Israeli opposition: protests will continue

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
29 Mar 2023 00:45
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Israeli media confirmed that Knesset MKs, Aryeh Deri, and Yuli Edelstein, are pressuring the incumbent occupation Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to repeal his dismissal of security Minister Yoav Gallant.

Israelis protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system in 'Bnei Brak' near 'Tel Aviv', occupied Palestine, March 23, 2023 (AP)

Israeli media confirmed that Knesset MKs, Aryeh Deri, and Yuli Edelstein, are pressuring the incumbent occupation Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to repeal his dismissal of security minister Yoav Gallant.

Israeli Channel 12 confirmed that "the security establishment is concerned over Gallant’s dismissal" which coincided with a meeting between Netanyahu and Galant and other security officials, discussing a set of security topics, according to the Walla! website.

This is the first meeting of the two since Sunday, when Netanyahu announced his intention to dismiss Galant, in light of a divergence in opinions in regard to the judicial reforms and the consequent protests. Large-scale protests have been burgeoning for the past 3 months, and they persist still. Today anti-judicial overhaul demonstrations have been held in several streets in "Tel Aviv" since noon and have grown more intense since.

Head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, Avigdor Lieberman, called on opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz to "suspend the ongoing negotiations regarding judicial amendments," stressing that "Netanyahu carried out a deceitful maneuver ... and I will not participate in that."

During a television interview, Lieberman said, "Netanyahu does not fulfill his duties and is unqualified for his position," noting that he "has dismissed his security minister ... and he fails to understand priorities."

Protests to Continue against Netanyahu

Likewise, the i24NEWS website stated that the opposition movement has called for a demonstration today, to announce a supposed "Declaration of Independence", echoing the slogan "We will not stop, we will not allow them to drive us to Sabbath!"

The protest movement statement stated that it came to object to "the complete politicization of the judge selection committee," and stressed that "last night, violent militias, finding the warm embrace of Ben Gvir, violently attacked our demonstrators across the country, and they do not stop! We will not stop either! We will not stop!".

In a televised interview on Channel 24, Yair Golan, a former MK of the Meretz party, said, "First of all, the protest movement must continue, and what we see here is a temporary suspension of legislation and not cancellation of the coup."

"We demand the abolition of the legislation in its entirety, and any amendments to the Israeli system must take place through dialogue that does not start from a plan aimed at extricating Netanyahu from trial or allowing the religious elements of Israel to proceed with their separatist tendencies or annexing the West Bank," he explained.

Golan added that he "does not trust Netanyahu when it comes to calling for dialogue," noting that "the man has lost his credibility in the last decade time after time, so with Netanyahu we only talk about evidence, and we do not accept promises...and the government will not succeed in misleading us."

Opponents also slammed Netanyahu’s announced plans to establish a civil guard under the supervision of extremist police minister Ben Gvir, in yesterday’s speech, as a “bomb between his words”: arguing that "it is a very dangerous matter, and it could herald terrible things."

Opposition politician Yariv Oppenheimer commented, "I don't see how we can reach an understanding... There are two parties here, one that wants democracy while preserving the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary, and another that wants a non-independent judiciary appointed by the government... This is not a government that believes in democracy.”

In the same context, Michael Kleiner, Likud-court chief, said "There is a disappointment for Likud voters, as the majority of voters did not go to the demonstrations in support of the legislation yesterday because they understood that we lost this battle, there will be new battles, I hope we can win them." said Michael Kleiner, Likud-court chief.