Israeli Supreme Court Proposes Ending Yehuda Eliyahu's Tenure as Israel Lands Authority Head by July 19

The Israeli Supreme Court justices have proposed terminating Yehuda Eliyahu's appointment as head of the Israel Lands Authority (ILA) on July 19, rather than waiting for the completion of a renewed selection committee review of the three final candidates, including Eliyahu. The court requested that all parties respond with approval or rejection by 2 p.m. on Monday, July 13, after which the judges will rule on the petitions if no agreement is reached.

Petitioners argued that Eliyahu's appointment should be disqualified due to his close ties to Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who appointed him, and flaws in the selection committee's process that favored Eliyahu. Prior to this role, Eliyahu served as head of the Settlement Administration at the Defense Ministry, co-founded the Regavim association with Finance Minister Smotrich, and was CEO of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. The government has expressed agreement with the court's position to cancel the appointment, though Eliyahu's legal representatives indicated he might remain in office for an extended period until the committee completes its review.

The judges, Yoel Wilner, Ofer Groskopf, and Khaled Kabub, also proposed replacing two selection committee members, Mehran Prozner from the Finance Ministry and Professor Adi Solberg, whose company provides services to the Housing Ministry, to ensure impartiality. The committee will reconsider only the top three scoring candidates rather than all 14 original applicants. Meanwhile, the government will appoint an interim head according to civil service law. The court emphasized that the petitions do not address the interim appointment and that the government must act lawfully on this matter.

The petitions were filed by the Academia for a Free Israel, the Arab Center for Alternative Planning, and the Women's Lobby, represented by various attorneys. Eliyahu is represented by lawyers Yaron Kostelitz and Daniel Rozenblum.