The High Court of Justice on Tuesday reluctantly agreed to postpone a hearing for petitions demanding the removal from office of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

The petitioners have asked that the court order Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fire Ben Gvir due to what they allege is the far-right minister’s unlawful influence over the policing of protests, police appointments, and investigations.

Netanyahu told the court on Monday he could not properly brief his lawyer on the issue due to the current wartime conditions, and said that a hearing should not be heard at all during a time of war.

A hearing had been scheduled for March 24, and Netanyahu requested that it be postponed to an unspecified date in the future, “subject to the security situation.”

The High Court partially agreed to the premier’s request, postponing the hearing but setting a new date to hear the petitions for April 15. Netanyahu’s lawyer has until April 14 to submit the final response to the petitions.

The change in date means that one of the nine justices on the panel, Gila Canfy-Steinitz, will not be present at the hearing.

She will be replaced instead by Justice David Mintz. Canfy-Steinitz is a moderate conservative, whereas Mintz is perhaps the strongest advocate for judicial restraint on the bench.

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© The Times of Israel