JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL 

Israel’s Supreme Court ordered far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Thursday to respond to petitions demanding his dismissal within six days.

Israeli human rights groups accuse Ben-Gvir of interfering in operational police matters and call for his dismissal. The extremist minister, however, argues that the police force falls under his authority as national security minister.

In February, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding concerns about Ben-Gvir’s conduct as minister.

In response, Ben-Gvir accused the attorney general of staging a coup against an elected government and called for her dismissal.

In March, the Israeli government unanimously voted to withdraw confidence from Baharav-Miara.

Ben-Gvir is notorious for his anti-Palestinian rhetoric and has called for continuing Israel’s brutal onslaught on the Gaza Strip, where nearly 51,400 people have been killed since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.