Israeli Knesset gives initial approval to 'judicial reforms' bill

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
21 Feb 2023 10:30

Any such approval is expected to push "Israel" into further division.

An Israeli settler attends a rally against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government on Jan. 21. (AFP)

Illustrating the increasingly stark division between Israelis, the occupation's parliament backed a key part of a controversial judicial overhaul at first reading Tuesday despite rallies that were held across several parts of the occupied territories as Israeli settlers continue to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "judicial reforms".

Protesters argue that Netanyahu aims to use the reforms in order to deflect a series of charges against him that date back to 2019, charges which include fraud, bribery, and breach of trust, whereas the opposition in "Israel" condemned the reforms as a means of "canceling the courts."

Netanyahu's supporters have argued that opposition to the reforms is tied to the opposition's inability to accept last November's electoral defeat.

By a 63 to 47 vote, lawmakers agreed to give the government more weight in the committee that picks judges and to deny courts the authority to rule on legislation that they believe violates "Israel's quasi-constitutional Basic Laws."

The bill will now be returned to the "law committee" for more discussion, prior to its second and third readings in the plenum before becoming law.

"Justice" Minister Yariv Levin said after the bill passed its first reading, "from now on, the court will belong to everyone," calling on members of the opposition to "come and talk."

On his account, opposition leader Yair Lapid accused the coalition of pushing "Israel" into "civil war", saying, if "you care about Israel and its people" then "you'll halt legislation today."

Critics accuse the government of usurping power, and tens of thousands of people have joined weekly protests against the legislation since early January.

The big picture

Political divisions in "Israel" between the government and the opposition are escalating in light of the exchange of accusations of responsibility for the possible outbreak of an "internal war", as "Israel" is witnessing demonstrations held by thousands of settlers against the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

This comes shortly after leaders within the Israeli occupation spoke about the ongoing division in "Israel" exposed by the results of the latest legislative elections.

Israeli occupation President Isaac Herzog said during a speech on the 27th anniversary of the killing of former Israeli occupation Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin that "the complicated political status quo in Israel poses somewhat of a historic challenge for us."

Meanwhile, former Israeli occupation Security Minister Benny Gantz called Israeli settlers to take to the streets in protest of changes to the Israeli "judicial" system that Benjamin Netanyahu's government proposed.

The demonstrators repeated chants against the new Israeli occupation government and some of its extremist ministers such as Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, as per Israeli media.

Following his November 1 election win, Netanyahu took office late last month at the head of a coalition with Haganah-minded parties, some of whose officials now head key ministries. The new occupation government has announced intentions to pursue a policy of settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.