Attorney General Rules Out Political Appointments During Transition Period

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has clarified to transitional government ministers that the obligation of restraint and moderation applies not only during the election campaign itself, but throughout the entire period until a new government is formed. The clarification aims to prevent political appointments during the transition and new contractual engagements that were not initiated before the elections.

In a legal opinion issued by Deputy Attorneys General Avital Sompolinsky and Dr. Gil Limon, it was determined that cabinet ministers and government ministries must exercise restraint regarding decisions, resource allocation, and legislative initiatives. The outgoing government is instructed to avoid irreversible decisions that would hinder the incoming administration from implementing its policies.

However, the opinion emphasizes that routine administrative operations necessary to ensure the continuity of the executive branch may continue. Each decision must be evaluated based on urgency, scope of impact, and whether it creates irreversible facts on the ground.

These guidelines compound existing friction between the government and the legal advisor. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Haim Katz previously petitioned the High Court of Justice to resume the search committee for a permanent director of the Israel Land Authority after a previous appointment was cancelled due to conflicts of interest.