Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sent a letter to Yoav Gradus, the director of his department's budget division, instructing that under no circumstances should the state budget finance the payment of lawyers for the Nukhba terrorists.
This directive was in response to a Kan 11 television report stating that the court had allowed militants involved in the October 7 massacre to use private lawyers and had ordered the State of Israel to pay for their services after the Justice Ministry's Public Defense Department lawyers refused to represent them in court.
According to Kan 11, the lawyers have already issued invoices for payment. The court administration has asked the Ministry of Justice to transfer the funds to pay the lawyers.
