A spokesman said on Monday that he had agreed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to postpone it until after the parliamentary break at the end of July. In return, a “national guard” will be set up under the leadership of the far-right minister. What this means in concrete terms was initially unclear. According to media reports, Netanyahu wanted to comment on the controversial judicial reform later on Monday. However, the exact time was not initially known.
More on that shortly.
Channel 12 broadcaster reported on Monday morning that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had postponed a statement that had been urgently planned for the morning due to serious differences in the coalition. It remained unclear whether Netanyahu wanted to stop the reform altogether or just put it on hold. Media reports said there was a risk of the coalition breaking up.
Short-term votes of no confidence in the government failed in parliament, in which Netanyahu’s alliance of conservatives, religious fundamentalists and right-wing nationalists has a majority. Tensions had increased over the weekend after Netanyahu ousted Defense Minister Joav Gallant over criticism of the reform. As a result, the demonstrations against the project, which had been going on for months, intensified. President Yitzhak Herzog called on the government to halt the reform.
The deal would give the government control over the appointment of Supreme Court judges. In addition, the government would be able to overrule court decisions on the basis of a simple parliamentary majority. Critics see the independence of the judiciary and thus democracy in Israel in danger. Netanyahu himself, who has been prime minister several times, is currently being tried for corruption allegations.
President Herzog, who has tried to mediate on several occasions, called on Netanyahu to rethink Monday morning: “For the sake of the unity of the Israeli people, for the sake of responsibility, I call on you to stop the legislative process immediately,” he wrote on Twitter . A representative of Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party said shortly thereafter that the prime minister would stop the reform and announce this in the morning. Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partner Itamar Ben-Gvir opposed it. The government must not “capitulate to anarchy,” he tweeted. Shortly thereafter, it was said that Netanyahu was postponing his statement. The broadcaster Kan reported that Netanyahu had informed the leaders of the coalition that he wanted to postpone the reform.
Photo gallery: Massive protests against judicial reform in Israel
(Photo: AFP/AHMAD GHARABLI) Bild 1/15
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Netanyahu ousted Defense Minister Gallant on Sunday after the Likud leader said the division in society caused by the reform plans was a threat to national security. This was followed by renewed mass protests in several cities across the country.
The government has repeatedly stressed in recent weeks that judicial reform is necessary to rein in judges and strike a proper balance between the elected government and the judiciary. A central part of the project should be voted on in Parliament this week. The project is also facing opposition from business and Israel’s allies. The United States had said it was deeply concerned about Sunday’s events.
The government is as far right as few in Israel’s history. In the parliamentary elections in early November, the bloc led by Netanyahu won 64 of the 120 seats in parliament. Netanyahu had initially announced that he would quickly form a government, but he actually only succeeded in doing so weeks later and only a few minutes before an extension of the deadline had expired. Even then, critics accused him of having made himself vulnerable to the demands of his extreme allies. According to observers, a two-state solution to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has also receded into the distant future with the alliance.
Despite massive protests, a core element of Israel’s controversial judicial reform has cleared another hurdle. Parliament’s Judiciary Committee on Monday approved the text of the law intended to change the composition of the Judiciary Committee. At the same time, the draft was sent to the plenary for the final reading, as the Israeli media unanimously reported.
In the morning the protests in front of the parliament in Jerusalem continued. The umbrella organization of trade unions in Israel called for a general strike. All departures have been halted at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv.
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General strike announced in Israel: airport departures halted
