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JERUSALEM, Jan. 18 (AP) — Israel’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a key member of the country’s new government cannot serve as a cabinet minister. The decision deepened divisions over power in Israel’s courts and presented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with what could be his first coalition crisis.
The high court ruled that Aryeh Deri, an influential leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party who served several times in successive Netanyahu governments, was convicted and suspended for tax violations last year, He was therefore disqualified from serving as minister. The plea deal Delhi has pledged not to withdraw from.
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The much-anticipated ruling comes as Israel is unnerved by controversy over an overhaul of the country’s legal system, which critics say would give the government too much power and weaken the Supreme Court. Supporters say it will correct the power imbalance between the executive and judicial branches.
Netanyahu must now decide whether he abides by the court ruling and fires his key ally Delhi, or escalates the dispute with the judicial system and flouts it.
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The ruling could have troublesome consequences for Netanyahu’s coalition. Some Shas members have urged Netanyahu to find a solution that would give Delhi the title they believe he deserves as leader of a mid-sized party. Otherwise, the party could drop out of the coalition, which would shave 11 seats from Netanyahu’s 64-seat majority in 120 lawmakers.
“If Aryeh Deri is not in government, there is no government,” Shas Cabinet Minister Yakov Margi told Kan public radio.
Israeli lawmakers last month amended a law that barred probationers from holding the post, a move seen as crucial for the coalition. That cleared the way for Delhi to join the government, but prompted questions in the Supreme Court.
Delhi is currently serving half a term as Minister of Health and Home Affairs. He will serve as finance minister for the second half of his term, while concurrently serving as deputy prime minister.
The Likud party and its ultra-Orthodox and far-right partners won a majority in the Knesset, or Knesset, in November 1 elections and formed a government that puts changing the legal system at the center of its agenda.
Opinion polls show that a majority of Israelis oppose Delhi as a government minister.
Still, the Delhi ruling is only expected to deepen divisions over legal reform. That would be seen by both camps as an affirmation of their views: either the courts have too much power in deciding who can become cabinet ministers, or judicial oversight can prevent lawmakers from enacting questionable laws.
Amid the tense atmosphere, a Shas MP said ahead of the ruling that the judges would be “shooting themselves in the head” if the Supreme Court barred Derry from appearing.
Delhi was sentenced to three years in prison in 2000 for bribery, fraud and breach of trust while serving as interior minister in the 1990s. He served 22 months in prison but made a political comeback and took back control of Shas in 2013. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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