28 of Israel's top economic officials filed a petition with the Supreme Court on Thursday to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from office.

The Israeli economic website Calcalist said that 28 senior officials in economics, technology, and academics submitted the petition to the Supreme Court.

Conflict of interests

The website added, "In the submitted petition, it is alleged that the conflict of interest in which Netanyahu finds himself lies between his responsibility to act in the interest of the state in conducting the war, and his alleged use of the war to postpone and delay his criminal trial in cases in which he is accused of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust."

It noted that this petition seeks to impeach Netanyahu “due to his alleged existence in an inherent conflict of interest between his public role and his criminal trial.”

Netanyahu is being tried for corruption in the District Court in East Jerusalem.

The petitioners pointed out that Netanyahu has used, several times since the outbreak of the war on Gaza, his preoccupation with its management as a justification for submitting requests to postpone and delay his trial.

They said, "This requires Netanyahu's removal from office or his dismissal, in light of a previous Supreme Court ruling on the issue of conflict of interest," and added, "The existence of a reasonable fear of a conflict of interest is sufficient to deprive a person of his position."

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office did not immediately comment on this petition, nor did the Supreme Court, the highest judicial body in Israel, set a date to consider the petition.

Source: Israeli press + Anadolu Agency