Israeli attorney general slams PM’s ‘illegal’ reform move

OCCUPIED-AL-QUDS: Israel´s attorney general on Friday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “illegal” public intervention on the government´s divisive judicial reform programme, citing his ongoing corruption trial.

After largely staying on the sidelines of the discussions, Netanyahu said in a televised address on Thursday he was “entering the arena” and determined to forge ahead with the judicial overhaul that has been met with mass protest.

“Your declaration yesterday and all interventions on your part on the process (of adopting the reforms) is illegal”, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said in a letter to the premier which was published by the justice ministry.

The prime minister must “avoid any involvement in changes in the judicial system and particularly in the process of nominating judges, as this places you in a situation of conflict of interests,” Baharav-Miara argued.