The heads of the coalition parties—Ofir Katz, Betzalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben Gvir, and Gideon Sa’ar—sent a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday calling on him not to heed the Supreme Court if it rules in favor of the petitions seeking the dismissal of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

“We firmly reject the attorney general’s opinion demanding that you explain why you have not dismissed Minister Ben-Gvir,” they wrote. “Her attempt to dismiss a senior minister from the government is an attempted coup against democracy. We will stand like a fortified wall against the baseless dismissal of a government minister.”

“No legal authority, including the Supreme Court, has the authority to force such a dismissal—especially since no indictment has even been filed against him. We will not allow it. Only the people can choose the government, and only the people will decide at the voting station who their representatives are.”

The leaders of the Chareidi parties did not sign the letter since they left the coalition in protest of the lack of advancement of a Chareidi draft law.

Earlier on Tuesday, Minister Ben Gvir submitted his response to the petitions to the Supreme Court seeking his removal from office, arguing that such a move is an unprecedented political attempt with no factual or legal foundation.

He wrote that the petitioners did not note any offense he committed but rather seek to remove him solely because he is succeeding in advancing policies that are not to their liking.

“There’s no conviction, no indictment, no notice of intent to file an indictment, no investigation, no examination, no public report—so from where does a petition arise?!” he wrote.

He added that the Attorney General is seeking to dismiss him not because of any offense, but because she disagrees with his policies, particularly regarding Har HaBayis. “The reason for the dismissal attempt is clear: the success in advancing a policy the Attorney General does not like, after she failed to prevent it by other means,” his response states.

Attorney David Peter, who represents the minister, noted that there is no precedent in Western countries for the dismissal of a sitting minister by judicial order and that the petitions constitute a severe infringement of the political rights of hundreds of thousands of Otzma Yehudit voters, millions of coalition voters, and the general public.

The response also describes improper pressure tactics and threats by elements within the legal advisory system, aimed at forcing the advancement of appointments without due process, including an explicit threat to act to remove the minister if he did not comply with the demands.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)