Israel's Supreme Court on Friday afternoon announced that the government's decision to end ISA chief Ronen Bar's time in office would be frozen until a hearing on the matter could be held.

The announcement follows an appeal by the Knesset's opposition parties earlier on Friday, demanding that the Supreme Court block the dismissal.

"We hereby issue a temporary order suspending the validity of the decision until the provision of a different decision," the ruling read.

With this, the Supreme Court intends to keep Bar in his position, until a judge can rule on the matter. A date for the hearing has not yet been set, but it is likely that the hearing will be held before Bar's dismissal takes effect.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi sharply criticized the Supreme Court, stating that the court has no authority to interfere in the government's decision.

In a direct response to Justice Gila Canfy Steinitz, Karhi said, "Ronen Bar will end his term on April 10 or earlier, with the appointment of a permanent ISA chief. You do not have the legal authority to interfere in this. That is the authority of the government, and of the government alone. Your order's validity is negated."

"This is the end of the story. The nation is the boss."

The Supreme Court elects its own successors with the aid of a committee, the majority of which are selected by the Supreme Court itself or belong to it. There is no vote on the court's justices, and - unlike the US system - the elected government has no power to elect justices. For decades, the court has been using its power to tie the hands of elected governments which it does not politically agree with.