Israelis resume protests after Netanyahu refuses to compromise

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
17 Mar 2023 00:36

Yesterday, Occupation President Isaac Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, proposed a compromise to Netanyahu’s judicial reforms which was supported by opposition leaders, but the government immediately rejected it.

Demonstrators block a highway during a protest against plans by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system in "Tel Aviv", occupied Palestine, Thursday, March 16, 2023 (AP)

Israelis have reportedly resumed their protests to rally against the judicial reform legislation after Netanyahu rejected an appeal for compromise proposed by the President.

Several provisions of the proposed judicial reform plan have already been adopted by parliament. Protestors in "Tel Aviv" have described them as "the end of democracy”.

Tens of thousands of Israeli settlers have reportedly rallied across occupied Palestine, according to Israeli media.

"I am afraid that we will become a religious state, that the laws of Judaism will come first and the democratic freedom that we have will not be there anymore," Liat Tzvi, a researcher at "Tel Aviv" University, who partook in the protests in "Tel Aviv" told AFP.

AFP reported that protesters blocked a main road in "Tel Aviv". Settlers also gathered in occupied al-Quds and Haifa to protest the judicial overhaul. Even some of the leaders of the opposition movement have joined in the rallies in "Tel Aviv. "

Yesterday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, proposed a compromise to Netanyahu’s judicial reforms which was supported by opposition leaders, but the government immediately rejected it.

Check out: Israelis see their society as divided

"Anyone who thinks that a genuine civil war, with human lives, is a line that we could never reach, has no idea what he is talking about," Herzog said.

"The offer is not perfect," said former prime minister Yair Lapid in regard to Herzog’s proposed compromise "It is not what we wanted, but it is a fair compromise that allows us to live together."

Netanyahu called Herzog’s proposed compromise a "unilateral compromise", the "key points" of which "only perpetuate the existing situation and do not bring the required balance between the powers".

Netanyahu’s coalition contends that the proposed reforms are necessary to correct a power imbalance, in the Israeli bureaucracy, in favor of the elected representatives against the Israeli supreme court.

However, during Netanyahu’s visit to Germany in which he met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the prime minister told journalists he was "attentive to what's happening in the country" referring to nationwide demonstrations that have persisted for over 10 weeks.

"But we need to bring something that matches the mandate we received" in last year's elections, Netanyahu said, "and we'll do so responsibly".

Netanyahu explained that his coalition has proposed a two-stage process to a key element in the reform -- "an immediate fix and then balancing things out", he said, adding however that president Herzog had "discarded" the offer.