Israel's cabinet passed a vote of no confidence on Sunday in the attorney general, the justice minister said, moving against a vocal critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and deepening a political rift in the country.
The vote against Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara is the first step in a process to dismiss her, and came two days after the government fired the head of the country's internal security agency.
Israel's Supreme Court subsequently froze the firing of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, and Baharav-Miara has cautioned the prime minister against trying to replace him.
The unprecedented moves to dismiss the Shin Bet chief and now the attorney general have widened divisions in the country as Israel resumes its military operations in the Gaza Strip.
A reignited protest movement has seen demonstrators accuse the prime minister of threatening democracy.
Netanyahu's office, citing a cabinet meeting agenda, had said the government would hold the vote on Baharav-Miara "due to her inappropriate behaviour and due to significant and prolonged differences between the government and the government's legal adviser".
On Friday, Israel's top court froze the government's bid to fire Bar, shortly after the filing of five separate appeals, including from opposition leader Yair Lapid's centre-right Yesh Atid party.
A detailed hearing on the appeals will take place on April 8, presided over by three judges including Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit, the spokeswoman for the Israeli courts told AFP.
Netanyahu has cited an "ongoing lack of trust" in Bar, who is expected to testify on April 8.
The prime minister has insisted it is up to the government who will head Shin Bet.
The opposition appeal highlighted what critics see as the two main reasons Netanyahu moved against Bar.
The first was his criticism of the government over the security failure that allowed Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the deadliest day in the country's history.
The second was what the opposition appeal said is a Shin Bet investigation of Netanyahu's close associates on suspicion of receiving money linked to Qatar.
Netanyahu's office has dismissed such accusations as "fake news".
Following the Supreme Court's initial ruling, Baharav-Miara said Netanyahu cannot name a new internal security chief."According to the decision of the Supreme Court, it is prohibited to take any action that harms the position of the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar," she said.
"It is prohibited to appoint a new head of Shin Bet, and interviews for the position should not be held."
Ahead of the vote on Baharav-Miara, hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside parliament and the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem, leading to scuffles with police.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin has criticised Baharav-Miara, a defender of judicial independence, for questioning the legality of certain governmental decisions.
The attorney general should not "take advantage of her position for political aims that completely paralyse the work of the government," he said.
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© Agence France-Presse