Israel PM Netanyahu told by supreme court he must fire key ally Aryeh Deri from cabinet

Israel’s Supreme Court on Wednesday, January 18, said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must fire a key ally, Aryeh Deri, the influential head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party from his new Cabinet amid the looming potential coalition crisis. Deri, who served in Benjamin Netanyahu's previous cabinets during his tenure, was convicted on tax offenses charges in December which forced his resignation from the Knesset at the time.

He, however, became eligible to contest for position in the next parliamentary elections as he wasn't convicted of moral turpitude. Deri had told the Knesset that he wouldn't seek immunity in the case as he had resigned as a lawmaker. 

'Deri isn't in government, there isn’t a government'

As he was then put on probation as part of a plea deal, Deri was disqualified as a minister according to the decision of at least 11 judges on Israel's high court. After the ruling, he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is now under immense political pressure to fire the minister over his tax offense cases. Deri, although, was reported as being reluctant and defiant to call his political career quit. 

“When they close the door on us, we’ll get in through the window. When they close the window, we’ll break through the ceiling,” he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press agency. Furthermore Deri noted, “I’m glad court ruled as it did. Let the people see and judge." "When they close the door on us, we’ll get in through the window. When they close the window, we’ll break through the ceiling," he continued to add.

Yakov Margi, a Shas cabinet minister who supports Deri told Kan public radio: “If Aryeh Deri isn’t in the government, there isn’t a government.”

A proposal in Israel's high court is also under review that involves the elimination of the “reasonability” test in case of reviewing the government decisions. Netanyahu, however, is unlikely to ignore the court's ruling and is likely to dismiss Deri as he would then be in contempt of court. “I am sure that he will abide by the ruling. It doesn’t mean that he [Netanyahu] will respect the ruling. What will probably happen is that they will do very quick legislation that will enable him to appoint Deri again," Dr Amir Fuchs, senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem thinktank, told Associated Press. 

“Most of the judges on the panel decided that this appointment suffers from extreme unreasonably, and therefore the prime minister must remove Deri from his position,” a statement by a court, accessed by the AP read on January 18.