Israel’s Parliament approved early Thursday the first part of a planned judicial overhaul, reducing the authority of the legal system to declare the prime minister incapacitated, hours before tens of thousands of Israelis took again to the streets to protest that and other planned changes.
(Bloomberg) — Israel’s Parliament approved early Thursday the first part of a planned judicial overhaul, reducing the authority of the legal system to declare the prime minister incapacitated, hours before tens of thousands of Israelis took again to the streets to protest that and other planned changes.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition passed a law stipulating that he can be declared unable to function only for medical or mental health reasons. That eliminated any attempt to use his corruption trial as a basis for his removal and gave him greater leeway to advocate publicly for changes.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the coalition acted “like thieves in the night,” in passing what he called “a reprehensible, corrupt, and personal law” in which Netanyahu “once again made sure to take care of himself.”
Netanyahu is fighting charges of corruption which some opponents had hoped to use to have him declared unfit. The high court had ruled that the cases against him gave him a conflict of interest so he couldn’t play a role in campaigning to change the legal system. Now, when he does speak in public about it, the basis to declare him unfit for that appears to have been eliminated.
In the evening, Netanyahu took to the airwaves and announced that he was now able to fully engaged in the overhaul, that it was moving forward on schedule and would include protections for minorities. He said he knew people were worried that the plan could go too far and he was ready for compromise — but the opposition had spurned his efforts at dialogue.
His speech came after it had been announced that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant would address the public to express his growing concerns over the judicial plan. Elite units and reservists have openly opposed the changes and Gallant has said that the nation’s national security was being compromised.
Netanyahu brought Gallant into his office, listened to his concerns and persuaded him to hold off on his speech, according to Gallant’s spokeswoman. The meeting and speech caused him to delay a trip to London by some hours.
Netanyahu and his coalition say that the court and the legal system have over the past 30 years taken on too much power.
Other aspects of the planned change will give politicians the dominant role in selecting judges and vastly reduce the high court’s ability to overturn a parliamentary law.
Once the changes are made, they are likely to be challenged in the high court itself. If the justices strike down the laws, Israel will face an institutional crisis unlike any in its history.
At least twice a week, tens of thousands of Israelis — mostly secular and liberal — are on the streets protesting the judicial plan, saying they will give the government nearly unchecked power and impair democracy and the economy.
On Thursday, dubbed a day of national shutdown, protesters lay down in front of the main police station in Tel Aviv and were dragged away and arrested. Tires were burned at the Ashdod port, and major roadways throughout the country were blocked by demonstrators waving Israeli flags. In the ultra-Orthodox Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak, a protester was run over. Water cannons were used, and dozens were arrested.
Amir Fuchs, senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, which opposes the changes, said the demonstrators are beginning to make a difference. “I’m not saying there won’t be any reform, but I am a lot more certain that it won’t be ratified as presented,” he said.
He said that the law passed about incapacitation “changes the rules of the game on a personal basis but is not catastrophic.” A bigger issue, he said, is the selection of judges to the Supreme Court. That is due to be approved next week.
(Adds Netanyahu’s speech in fifth paragraph and more details on the protests.)
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