Israel’s prime minister dismissed defense minister Galant after he called for the controversial judicial reform to be halted.
(Photo: dpa)
Tel Aviv Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced a temporary halt to the controversial judicial reform. “I have decided to suspend the second and third readings in this session,” Netanyahu said in Jerusalem on Monday. The legislative proposal will therefore be submitted to Parliament for a vote at the end of April at the earliest.
“We are in the midst of a crisis that threatens our essential unity,” Netanyahu said. He warned of a civil war that must not come about. “Everyone must act responsibly,” he said. So he stretches out his hand for dialogue.
Israel’s Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir previously announced that he had reached an agreement with Netanyahu on a postponement. In return, a “national guard” is to be set up under the leadership of the far-right politician. What this means in concrete terms was not initially clear.
According to media reports, Ben-Gvir and Netanyahu had previously met for an emergency meeting, in which Ben-Gvir is said to have threatened to resign if Netanyahu did not stick to the reform plans.
Organizers of the demonstrations, which have been going on for weeks, announced that they would continue the protests. “The government has brought Israel close to destruction and it still threatens to dismantle democracy. A temporary freeze is not enough and national protests will continue to intensify until the law is rejected in the Knesset,” it said in a statement Monday evening.
The judicial reform pushed by Netanyahu and his right-wing religious coalition partners has led to a domestic political crisis and massive protests across the country as well as a general strike. Numerous shops and Israeli embassies will remain closed on Monday, and hardly any plane will take off from Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv.
For weeks there have been protests in Israel against the government and the planned judicial reform. After the dismissal of Defense Minister Joav Galant on Sunday evening, the protests increased again. Galant had previously called for talks with critics and a halt to controversial plans for judicial reform.
He warned that national security and the army’s operational capability were at stake. For weeks there has been talk of growing resentment in the military, and numerous reservists did not show up for duty in protest against the reform.
drastic reform
The planned reform of the judiciary should enable Parliament to overrule decisions of the Supreme Court with a simple majority. The election of judges is also to be reorganized. Critics see the separation of powers in danger, some even describe the reform as “creeping introduction of a dictatorship”.
The impending consequences are already emerging as enormous. With the proposed law, Netanyahu is shaking the most important pillars of his country: the high-tech industry, the military and relations with allies like the United States. “King Bibi”, as he was once called, has changed a lot, according to former companions.
Here, people are demonstrating in Jerusalem against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary.
(Photo: dpa)
It appears that Netanyahu, who has ruled the country for three terms totaling 15 years, has lost control of Israel. He bases his coalition on a bloc of ultra-religious and far-right parties that have more influence in the alliance than his Likud party.
However, Netanyahu is not only trapped by his radical allies, who want to implement a restructuring of the judicial system – not least in order to turn Israel into a theocracy in the medium term. He also has a strong self-interest in the restructuring, which he believes should disempower what he believes to be the left-wing judiciary elite: Netanyahu is on trial on allegations of corruption and bribery.
The allegations are “constructed,” he says, claiming the goal is to overthrow him. Anyone who compares Netanyahu’s actions with earlier ones will notice an astonishing change. At the beginning of his career, “Bibi” turned Israel inside out in a positive sense. Twenty years ago, as Minister of Finance, he unleashed the socialist economy.
Start-up country Israel
The fact that the economy is now a high-tech world power is not least due to his liberalization policy at the time. The country became an innovation and start-up nation.
Today’s prime minister is not the Bibi he used to be, says former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy. In the past, Netanyahu had always been “very cautious”, even “hesitant”. He avoided risks. And one manager says that Netanyahu used to be one of the best financial politicians, but has now dropped all consideration for the economy. He found it completely incomprehensible that he would jeopardize Israel’s prosperity and locational qualities.
Even from the White House, very critical tones are reaching Jerusalem and the fear that Israel’s democracy is in danger. Although Netanyahu has been in office for three months, he is still awaiting an invitation to Washington. The country’s closest ally is losing patience.
Netanyahu’s reform plans are damaging the economy. Many high-tech entrepreneurs are looking for new locations because they fear the end of the rule of law.
With agency material.
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