Malka Leifer: Israel court approves extradition of sex abuse suspect to Australia

Malka Leifer (right) is wanted on 74 sexual assault charges

Israel's highest court has ruled that a former principal accused of sexually abusing girls at a school in Melbourne can be extradited to Australia.

Malka Leifer went to her native Israel in 2008 after allegations against her surfaced. She is wanted in Australia on 74 sexual assault charges.

The Supreme Court rejected her appeal against extradition and the justice minister says he will sign it off.

Ms Leifer has denied the allegations against her.

The case has dragged on for years, straining relations between Israel and Australia.

In its ruling on Tuesday, the Supreme Court said "all the arguments are closed and the declaration of extradition takes final effect".

"More than six years have passed since a request was filed" for Ms Leifer's extradition, the Hebrew-language ruling said. Since then, "there is no proceeding that the appellant has not taken" to avoid being sent to Australia.

"Those who think they can escape justice should know they won't find sanctuary in Israel," it said.

Israeli Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn welcomed the Supreme Court's decision and said he would sign the extradition order "without delay".

"After long and tormenting years, the time has come to do justice," he wrote on Twitter.

Ms Leifer is accused of sexually assaulting girls at the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Adass Israel School in Melbourne.

Australia tried to extradite her between 2014 and 2016, but the attempt failed after Ms Leifer was found mentally unfit for trial.

Undercover private investigators later filmed her shopping and depositing a cheque at a bank, leading Israeli authorities to investigate and arrest her in February 2018.

Earlier this year, a panel of psychiatrists found that Ms Leifer was faking her mental illness to avoid extradition.

Israeli prosecution lawyer Avital Ritner-Oron told KAN radio it could still be "months" before Ms Leifer is extradited.

She said there was theoretically still a chance of a further appeal, and even if that did not happen, arranging the process for her extradition would take time.

Ms Leifer's lawyer, Nick Kaufman, expressed hope that, if convicted, she would be able to serve her prison sentence in Israel, the Associated Press news agency reported.