Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara is reportedly blocking prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to appoint ultra-Orthodox Shas party head Aryeh Deri as a minister in the expected coalition due to Deri's criminal record.
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Deri resigned from the last Knesset as part of a plea deal that saw Deri admit to minor tax offenses and pay a fine in exchange for a suspended sentence of one year. Then-attorney general Avichai Madelblit did not seek a finding of moral turpitude that would've prevented Deri from running in the next election.
Additionally, Deri previously served 22 months in prison in 2000 after being convicted of bribery while serving as interior minister.
Article 6 of Israel's Basic Law prevents individuals sentenced to prison from serving as ministers for seven years. While seven years have passed since his 2000 sentences, his 12-month suspended sentence from earlier this year might bar him from receiving a cabinet post.
Israel's Channel 12 reported on Friday that Deri asked one of Netanyahu's former attorneys to draft a legal opinion maintaining that only those who were actually jailed should be barred, as opposed to those who were given suspended sentences.
According to the report, which did not cite any sources, Baharav-Miara told Netanyahu that she did not accept the legal opinion and that the country's Basic Law refers to both suspended sentences and prison time.
She reportedly told Netanyahu he would have to ask the head of the Central Elections Committee for his legal approval to appoint Deri. Deri is seeking the position of finance minister, and Netanyahu is reportedly considering giving him the portfolio.
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
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