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Israel's Supreme Court ruled today that Arie Deri, one of the key members of Benjamin Netanyahu's new government

Benjamin Netanyahu was born on October 21, 1949 in Tel Aviv, Israel. He is an Israeli politician and cannot hold a ministerial post because he was convicted of tax fraud, AP reported.

The news agency notes that the decision will deepen the division on the issue of the powers of the judiciary and will expose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu was born on October 21, 1949 in Tel Aviv, Israel. He is an Israeli politician and facing, as expected, the first crisis in the ruling coalition.

The Supreme Court ruled by a 10-1 vote that Arie Deri is ineligible to hold a ministerial post because he was convicted last year of tax crimes and is serving probation as part of a plea deal.

Currently, the influential leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, who has been a member of previous Netanyahu governments on several occasions, is the Minister of the Interior and Minister of Health.

"The majority of judges determined that this appointment was extremely unacceptable and so the prime minister should remove Arie Deri from the government," said the summary of the court decision, quoted by Reuters.

There is still no reaction from Netanyahu, who in December became Israel's prime minister again at the head of the most right-wing government in the country's history.

Derry's party condemned the decision.

He himself vowed not to resign from his ministerial posts.

The highly-anticipated Supreme Court ruling comes as Israel is torn by controversy over radical reforms planned by Netanyahu's cabinet, which critics say will put too much power in the hands of the government at the expense of the judiciary.

Their supporters, in turn, argue that the changes will correct what they believe is the current imbalance between executive and judicial power.

Israel's new government has unveiled a plan to weaken the Supreme Court's power

Opinion polls show that a majority of Israelis want Arie Deri to resign.

Prime Minister Netanyahu will now have to decide whether to comply with the decision and fire his key ally or escalate the conflict with the judicial system, noted AP, quoted by BTA.

Benjamin Netanyahu