Israel's High Court of Justice convened to hear a petition demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explain why he has not removed National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from his position.

Itamar Ben-Gvir is controversial because he is one of Israel’s most hardline far-right politicians, with a long record of incendiary rhetoric, anti-Arab provocation and legal trouble that critics say amounts to extremism. As national security minister, his influence over policing and Palestinian policy has made those concerns more consequential, since opponents argue he has helped inflame tensions rather than calm them.

The April 15 hearing descended into an open confrontation between right-wing lawmakers and the court's president in the latest sign of growing internal disputes in the country following the war with Iran and ongoing operations in Lebanon.

Petitioners are seeking a court order compelling Netanyahu to dismiss outspoken Ben-Gvir, citing what they allege is his repeated and unlawful interference in operational police matters, politicisation of police appointments, and overt involvement in active investigations. 

Netanyahu's legal representative, Attorney Michael Ravello, argued the court lacked authority to intervene.

"In these political matters in which the Prime Minister is elected to appoint ministers, the discretion is absolute. It is subject to public scrutiny," Ravello stated during the televised hearing. 

Court President Isaac Amit pushed back, invoking the Deri-Pinhasi precedent and the case of former government secretary Yossi Fox, who had himself petitioned the court over Ariel Sharon's dismissal of ministers, as examples of judicial precedent for such review.

The hearing was disrupted repeatedly. MKs Almog Cohen and Limor Son Har-Melech of Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party were removed after outbursts directed at Amit, as was Likud MK Tali Gottlieb.

Minister of Environmental Protection Idit Silman was subsequently removed after calling on US President Donald Trump to intervene against what she termed a judicial "coup."

Justice Minister Yariv Levin issued a pre-emptive statement declaring that any ruling ordering Ben-Gvir's removal would carry no legal validity, as the authority to appoint or dismiss ministers rests solely with the prime minister.

Ben-Gvir, addressing protesters outside the courthouse, framed the proceedings as an attack on the democratic mandate of his voters. "The legal dictatorship will fall," he told the crowd.