Israel's top court ruled in a 10-1 decision on Wednesday to bar the political appointment of a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The court ruled that Aryeh Deri, the leader of the ultra-orthodox Sephardic Shas party and a key ally of Netanyahu, should not be able to serve as interior minister because of a February 2022 conviction for tax fraud.

Along with holding the powerful interior minister position, Deri was also named vice prime minister and health minister in the government, which was sworn in barely three weeks ago.

The ruling comes amid a nationwide schism in government, as Netanyahu's historically conservative government has gone after the power of the country's judiciary in recent weeks.

Deri, despite being one of Israel's most influential politicians, was not an easy appointment to make. He has been convicted of criminal offenses twice, including a plea bargain last year in which he admitted to tax fraud.

When Deri signed his plea deal, the prosecution and the judge made it clear that they understood he was abandoning public life. But less than a year later, he ran for office again, claiming he never said his departure would be permanent.

To allow Deri to be sworn in, the Knesset, Israel's legislative body, had to change a law that said a person who was sentenced to prison time or probation in the last seven years couldn't serve as a minister.

The Israeli Supreme Court denied Deri's appointment on the basis of "extreme unreasonability" because of his conviction and suspended prison sentence. The court said Netanyahu should remove him from his posts.

Following the ruling, Axios reported that Netanyahu and his coalition are expected to expedite their efforts at reigning in the country's judiciary, seeking to pass a law that would allow the governing coalition to override Supreme Court rulings by a simple majority of 61 votes in the 120-member Knesset.

Critics, including the current chief justice, say the judicial changes, if enacted, would severely limit judicial independence and oversight while also undermining Israel's liberal democracy.

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