Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized the High Court of Justice on Tuesday evening for ruling that the appointment of the Israel Land Authority (ILA) director-general must be postponed until after the elections.
Smotrich claimed the decision was intended to block the appointment of Yehuda Eliyahu, linking the controversy to land policy in the Negev and Galilee.
“Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s people and the High Court justices are doing everything they can to thwart Yehuda Eliyahu’s important and critical Zionist appointment as director-general of the Israel Land Authority," Smotrich said.
The finance minister stressed the ILA’s authority over state land, land marketing and efforts to increase the housing supply. He said the authority also plays a central role in land policy in the Negev and Galilee, which he wants to change.
“The Israel Land Authority is the body that controls and manages all state land. It is responsible for land marketing and transactions in central Israel and for increasing supply to bring down housing costs for you, the citizens of Israel. Of course, it is also responsible for policy in the Negev and Galilee," he said.
Smotrich argued that opposition to Eliyahu’s appointment stemmed from his past work on Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria and the policies he is expected to advance at the ILA.
“The leftists in the judicial system know that Yehuda Eliyahu is the man who led the revolution in Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria. They know he will transform this body completely, restore its Zionist, settlement-oriented spirit, and strengthen the Jewish presence in the Negev and Galilee. That is why they are trying to block this appointment," he said.
The finance minister then intensified his criticism of the ruling.
“Today’s court ruling is an injustice - a Zionist injustice, a Jewish injustice, but above all, a legal injustice," he said. “For no reason whatsoever, the court is cooperating with Gali Baharav-Miara and forcibly blocking our rights and duties - almost, I would say, violently. Completely violently."
Smotrich said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the housing minister and he himself were committed to completing Eliyahu’s appointment after the elections. He linked the issue to other appointments in the judicial system and other public bodies, calling for an election victory to advance those changes.
“We will strengthen the Jewish presence in the Galilee and the Negev, reform the judicial system, clean up its distortions and remove the extremist elements that have taken over the system, trampling democracy and the choices of you, the citizens of Israel, and imposing post-Zionist and progressive policies on the State of Israel for many years," he said.