A former Melbourne school principal accused of sexually assaulting female students has lost a bid in an Israeli court to stop a further psychiatric examination to assess if she is mentally fit for extradition.
The Jerusalem Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal filed by Malka Leifer's lawyers against a District Court decision handed down in late September that ordered a new psychiatric panel to assess and report on the 52-year-old's mental state.
The appeal was heard a week before the new psychiatric panel was due to present its findings to the Israeli court.
Leifer faces extradition to Australia on 74 charges of sexually assaulting female students during her time at Melbourne's ultra-orthodox Adass Israel school.
She fled to Israel in 2008 after the allegations first emerged and the process to extradite her has stalled several times since charges were laid in 2013.
Dassi Erlich, one of her alleged victims, has been fighting along with her sisters to bring Leifer back to Australia. She had a nervous six-hour wait for a final decision from the Supreme Court's Judge David Mintz.
"With two months since the last hearing, Leifer has been front and centre of our minds and we almost forgot how emotionally exhausting and physically gruelling these hearings are," Ms Erlich told AAP.
"Time to breathe, sleep and remember we will get through this."
In September, Judge Chana Miriam Lomp deemed there wasn't enough evidence that Leifer was mentally fit to face an extradition trial, even though court proceedings have been ongoing since 2014.
Israel's State Attorney Office, acting as the prosecution in the case against Leifer, has produced countless evidence over the 61 court hearings that the accused is feigning mental illness to avoid an extradition trial.
In this Feb. 27, 2018 file photo, Australian Malka Leifer, center, is brought to a courtroom in Jerusalem Source: AAP
At the end of October, Leifer's lawyers had stated she would not co-operate in the fresh psychiatric assessment.
The District Court judge ruled the panel should proceed anyway.
In court on Tuesday, Leifer's defence continued to claim there was no "rationale" or "authority" by the court for the accused to undergo another assessment, and it wasn't fair on the defendant.
The psychiatric panel will examine Leifer on Wednesday before presenting its report to the court on December 10.
The report will be discussed at next week's hearing and both sides will then be given the opportunity to cross-examine the psychiatrists in the next step in this long process.
Victim supporter Manny Waks was pleased with the Supreme Court's decision on Tuesday.
Malka Leifer (L), seen as she is brought to Jerusalem District court for a hearing by the Israeli prison service guards on 27 February 2018. Source: AAP
"We expect next week's decisive hearing to rule that Malka Leifer is indeed fit to face justice, and that her extradition hearing will finally recommence," Mr Waks, the chief executive of Kol v'Oz, said in a statement.
"This ongoing farce must end, and justice must prevail - for Leifer's victims and for other victims who are being deterred from pursuing justice."
Leifer is currently being held in Neve Tirtza women's prison outside of Tel Aviv after the Supreme Court overturned a lower court decision to release her to house arrest.
Anyone seeking information or support relating to sexual abuse can contact Bravehearts on 1800 272 831 or Blue Knot on 1300 657 380.
