Justice minister rails against AG, says he can’t serve as acting state attorney
Mandelblit responds that he has already temporarily assumed role several months ago, amid unprecedented quarrel between top law enforcement officials
Justice Minister Amir Ohana on Sunday rebuked Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit for writing a letter earlier in the day to officials at the State Attorney’s Office, saying he would be taking on the role of acting state attorney for the coming months, amid a freeze on senior appointments and following a fight with the outgoing acting state attorney, Dan Eldad.
Eldad’s tenure expires on Monday. On the previous Thursday, the High Court issued a temporary injunction preventing a three-month extension of his term, which Ohana had been expected to announce.
The court issued the ruling in response to a petition by a group of lawyers who said that it was “unreasonable” for the justice minister to extend the controversial Eldad’s tenure during a transitional government. The court gave respondents, including the justice minister, two weeks to react. It also said a replacement for Eldad could not be appointed during that time.
Petitioners asserted that the post of Israel’s top prosecutor had been “hijacked” by Ohana, a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the premier faces trial in three criminal cases. They said Eldad was now in an unreasonable conflict of interest, with his continued tenure dependent on a confidant of Netanyahu, even as his office prepares to take the prime minister to court.
Ohana on Sunday sent a letter to Civil Service Commissioner Daniel Hershkowitz saying Mandelblit did not have the authority to appoint himself acting state attorney and that he had sent his letter without consulting or notifying Ohana.
“Such centralization of authority, which a person has taken without legal basis, is at odds with all principle at the core of our judicial system,” the minister wrote, adding that the State Attorney’s Office was not above the law and does not “belong to anyone.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/justice-minister-rails-against-ag-says-he-cant-serve-as-acting-state-attorney/