Overview
- Israel’s Supreme Court held a marathon hearing without issuing a ruling and urged the sides to agree on an independent overseer, saying it would wait into the evening for a deal.
- Petitions before the court seek to disqualify Attorney General Gali Baharav‑Miara from overseeing the case, bar the State Attorney’s Office from participating, and annul Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s appointment of retired judge Asher Kula.
- The panel questioned the attorney general’s ability to select a replacement given her conflict of interest and noted that State Attorney Amit Isman’s early involvement may also disqualify him.
- Justices flagged a statutory barrier to Kula’s eligibility due to his role as Ombudsman for Complaints Against Judges and challenged the minister’s authority to invoke Civil Service Law Clause 23 for the appointment.
- Justice Yael Willner floated alternatives including a senior district court judge, a retired Supreme Court justice, or a senior figure from the Competition or Securities Authorities, as current oversight rests with the State Attorney’s cyber chief Assaf Shavit.