Coalition to renew work on bill barring court intervention in ministerial appointments

Legislative process began in 2023 as attempt to allow Deri to serve as minister despite criminal convictions, but may now benefit Ben Gvir, who faces petitions for his dismissal

The governing coalition intends to restart work on a bill that would bar the High Court of Justice from intervening in the appointment of government ministers, according to multiple reports in Hebrew media outlets Sunday, potentially paving the way for the appointment of ministers convicted of crimes.

The bill was last advanced by the government in 2023, after the High Court barred Shas leader Aryeh Deri from serving as a minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government due to prior criminal convictions, but the process was halted before it could proceed to the second and third readings required to become law.

As the law has passed its initial reading, the government will be able to push it through its second and third readings quickly, completing the process within a matter of days, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

It nevertheless notes that the government has not made a final decision on whether or not to resurrect the bill, and that even if it does, the coalition will need to secure the votes of the ultra-Orthodox parties to ensure it passes.

Unlike last time, when it was intended to protect Deri, the legislative process will be restarted this time to protect National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Channel 12 reported, as the High Court is examining petitions demanding his dismissal.

Earlier this month, the court ordered Netanyahu to explain why he has not fired Ben Gvir.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has said Ben Gvir should be fired for systematically abusing his powers and inappropriately intervening in police operations through a “continuous (sometimes sophisticated) system of pressure” on police officers.

She alleged that Ben Gvir had used his office to pressure police on issues including the treatment of anti-government protesters, the status quo on the Temple Mount, protection for Gaza-bound aid trucks and appointments within police ranks.

Ben Gvir, for his part, has asked the court to reject the petitions seeking his dismissal and insisted earlier this month that the court has “no authority” to order his dismissal, and doing so would be to nullify the will of the voters.

In its previous iteration, the bill sought to allow Netanyahu to appoint Deri as health and interior minister, despite repeated criminal convictions, including one less than 12 months before the legislation was drafted.

Deri was convicted in 2022 on tax fraud charges and before that in 1999 on bribery charges.

Netanyahu nevertheless appointed him to his cabinet in late 2022, but was forced to fire him after the High Court ruled his appointment invalid, prompting the legislation that would have allowed him to return to office if finalized.

As the legislation was never passed into law, Shas MK Moshe Arbel was ultimately tapped to replace Deri as both health and interior minister, until the health portfolio was handed over to fellow Shas member Uriel Buso several months later.

Deri’s office, on Sunday night, said the Shas leader supported the bill as “the exclusive authority to appoint and dismiss ministers rests solely with the prime minister, as is appropriate in a democracy.”

However, it asserted that he himself “does not need this law and has no interest in being appointed a minister in the current government.”

All Shas ministers resigned from the government in July 2025 to protest the lack of a law regulating the conscription of ultra-Orthodox men into the IDF. The party’s lawmakers then followed suit, giving up their posts in the coalition in October for the same reason.