Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on Sunday of seeking to operate above the law, without any checks on its power, and of seeking to silence the government legal advice system, which she heads.

Writing to the cabinet ahead of a scheduled cabinet meeting to approve a no-confidence motion in her, the attorney general said that the motion was legally irrelevant and would have no bearing on the government’s efforts to remove her from office.

Baharav-Miara, who was not expected to attend the cabinet meeting, also argued that the government fundamentally misunderstood the role of the Attorney General’s Office, which she said was to assist the government in achieving its policies in accordance with the law.

“When the legal advice system presents the government with the boundaries of the law, it is doing its job, and it cannot be claimed that these are differences of opinion that are grounds for dismissal,” said the attorney general in response to the government’s basic claim that she has repeatedly thwarted the government from implementing its policies.

She additionally pointed out that she and the legal advisory system have assisted the current government with the advancement of hundreds of pieces of legislation and hundreds of government resolutions — a form of executive action — and represented the government in over 2,000 petitions, including on key issues relating to the war, including regarding humanitarian aid policy to Gaza, administrative detention, and other controversial policies.

“The [no-confidence] motion does not seek to advance trust but rather loyalty to the political echelon, not governability but rather unlimited regime power, as part of a broader process to weaken the judicial branch and deter the entire professional echelon,” charged Baharav Miara, referring to the government’s ongoing contentious judicial overhaul program.

“The government seeks to be above the law, and to operate without checks and balances, including at the most sensitive time, a time of emergency, anti-government protests, and an election period,” Baharav-Miara concluded.

After the cabinet convened to deliberate the no-confidence motion, Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s spokesman released a statement........

© The Times of Israel