Netanyahu fires Deri ‘with a heavy heart’ after High Court order to fire convicted minister

He said: “No judicial decision will prevent me from serving and representing” the 400,000-odd Shas voters who gave his ultra-Orthodox party 11 Knesset seats in November’s elections.

Mr Deri vowed to continue to lead Shas as a lawmaker in the Knesset, chairing its faction meetings and attend meetings of coalition party chiefs. 

A spokesperson for Mr Deri said he will also retain his Vice Prime Minister title, which is largely honorific and carries no official authority. It is unclear whether it will permit Deri to keep an observer seat at the cabinet table, but the spokesperson said it was likely that the government would continue to invite the sacked minister to its meetings.

Mr Netanyahu addressed the dismissal in statement made directly to Mr Deri, who was seated beside him. He described the court’s order as an  “unfortunate decision”. It ignored the will of the Israeli people, he said.

He continued: “It was clear to all that you would serve in the cabinet as a senior minister.

“I reasoned that it was important that you serve the State of Israel as a member of the security cabinet in my government, where you could be of influence, given your years of experience as a member of cabinet in the governments of the late prime ministers Yitzhak Shamir and Yitzhak Rabin — rich experience that contributed to Israel’s security and resilience.”

It is not yet clear who will replace Mr Deri in the interior and health ministries. Normally, when a minister quits, his or her portfolios automatically revert to the prime minister for a temporary period until a new minister is appointed, but because Mr Netanyahu is himself under criminal indictment in connection to a separate corruption investigation, he is blocked by law from holding any cabinet seat other than the premiership.