Israel's judiciary reins in far-right police minister

Israel's Supreme Court on Thursday thwarted a bid to enlarge the powers of far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir in a further showdown between the country's top judges and the government.

The court struck down as ineffective a clause in controversial legislation that had been intended to give Ben-Gvir great influence over police investigations, Israeli media reported.

The plaintiffs, including civil society organisations, had argued that the now annulled passages would have given the minister excessive powers over police work, which would politicise law-enforcement and endanger democracy.

The ruling punctuates a conflict between the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the judiciary that has been smouldering for years.

It centres on the question of how far the judiciary is allowed to set limits on a democratically elected government.

Ben-Gvir expressed outrage at the court's decision, saying that the institution had once again presumed to ignore the will of the voters.