Judiciary worried Netanyahu delayed overhaul to gain time
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Several Israeli officials in the judiciary claim that the ruling coalition was forced to suspend the judicial reform bill but it is ready to bring it up at any given moment.
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Anti-government protesters burn tires near 'Beit Yanai', occupied Palestine, March 27, 2023 (AP)
The Israeli judiciary is concerned that the cabinet postponing the judicial overhaul bill is only a farce aimed at gaining more time, Israeli media said Wednesday.
"There are concerns in the judiciary that the postponement of the judicial reform is only a farce aimed at gaining more time to enable the coalition to spend the holidays amid less public tension," said Israeli Ynet website.
The news website quoted judiciary officials as saying that the coalition was forced earlier to suspend the broad reform that it had prepared, but it is "prepared to take it out at any given moment."
Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir commented on the judicial reform, saying, "the negotiations should have started from the first moment. It is a mistake that we stopped."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "If I resign, the government will be dismantled, and I do not want the right-wing government to be dismantled," Ben-Gvir claimed.
The Israeli KAN public broadcaster reported Tuesday that the Israeli police minister had an altercation with Netanyahu and yelled at him during a meeting of the coalition's leaders. The far-right minister also underlined that he would continue pushing for the judicial overhaul from outside his coalition with Netanyahu.
KAN also highlighted that opposition leader Yair Lapid told Netanyahu that he was ready to guarantee a safety net for the current government, noting that if one of the government's parties refuse to postpone legislation and withdraw from the coalition, he would guarantee votes that ensure that the coalition government does not fall for such a reason.
Maariv reported Wednesday that Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin said on WhatsApp that he would "try to introduce legislation in the next session of the Knesset. We will organize demonstrations throughout the country."
Lapid commented on the minister's statement, saying: "to those who asked why I felt suspicious... Netanyahu should make it clear that this message does not go with his opinion because his Minister of Justice says that the negotiations in the President’s residence are a deception."
Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided Monday to suspend his cabinet's plans to reform the judiciary, though he stressed that "we will never give it up."
"There is a minority that is ready to use violence, commit arson, and call for refusing to be drafted into the army," said Netanyahu. "Israel would not exist without the army."
"We stand before our brothers, and civil war between brothers is not allowed," he added during a press conference, stressing the need for dialogue and consultation on the issue of judicial reform.
The decision to suspend the judicial amendments and give dialogue a chance is "at the height of a serious crisis that endangers Israeli unity," the occupation premier said. "I decided to postpone the second and third readings in the current Knesset session."
Israeli media reported earlier in the day that Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have agreed to postpone the judicial reform law until the Knesset's summer session.
Ben-Gvir commented on the decision to postpone the decision to reform the judiciary, saying: "Netanyahu pledged that the reform will be proposed in the Knesset in its summer session, even if no agreement was reached about it."
