Tag: Benjamin Netanyahu

Netanyahu to push ahead with judicial plan after ’emergency’ surgery

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was rushed to the hospital early Sunday for an emergency implantation of a heart pacemaker, plunging Israel into deeper turmoil after widespread protests over his contentious judicial overhaul plan.

A physician at the Sheba Medical Center said later that the procedure went well and Netanyahu felt fine.

In announcing the hospitalization, Netanyahu’s office said that he would be sedated and that a top deputy, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, would stand in for him while he underwent the procedure. In a brief video statement before the implantation, Netanyahu said he “feels excellent” and planned to push forward with the judicial overhaul as soon as he was released.

Netanyahu’s announcement, issued well after midnight, came a week after he was hospitalized at Sheba for what was described as dehydration. It also came after a tumultuous day that saw some of the largest protests to date against the judicial overhaul plan.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across Israel on Saturday night, while thousands marched into Jerusalem and camped out near the Knesset, or parliament, ahead of a vote expected Monday that would approve a key portion of the overhaul.

Further ratcheting up the pressure on the Israeli leader, over 100 retired security chiefs came out in favour of the growing ranks of military reservists who say they will stop reporting for duty if the plan is passed.

Netanyahu and his far-right allies announced the overhaul plan in January, days after taking office. They claim the plan is needed to curb what they say are the excessive powers of unelected judges. Critics say the plan will destroy the country’s system of checks and balances and put it on the path toward authoritarian rule. US President Joe Biden has urged Netanyahu to halt the plan and seek a broad consensus.

Netanyahu, 73, keeps a busy schedule and his office says he is in good health. But over the years, it has released few details or medical records. On 15 July, he was rushed to Sheba with dizziness. He later said he had been out in the hot sun and had not drunk enough water.

His return for the pacemaker procedure indicated his health troubles were more serious than initially indicated. In the video, Netanyahu said that he was outfitted with a monitor after last week’s hospitalization and that when an alarm beeped late Saturday, it meant he required a pacemaker right away.

“I feel excellent, but I listen to my doctors,” he said.

Professor Roy Beinart, the senior physician and director at the Davidai Arrhythmia Center at Sheba’s Heart Institute, said in a video that Netanyahu was called in to get the pacemaker because he experienced “a temporary arrhythmia,” or irregular heartbeat, Saturday evening.

“The implantation went smoothly, without any complications. He is not in a life-threatening condition. He feels great and is returning to his daily routine,” Beinart said.

It was not immediately clear what the hospitalization meant for the judicial overhaul, which has bitterly divided the nation. Netanyahu said he expected to be released in time to go to the Knesset for Monday’s vote. In the meantime, his office said the weekly meeting of his Cabinet, usually held each Sunday morning, had been postponed.

A pacemaker is used when a patient’s heart beats too slowly, which can cause fainting spells, according to the National Institutes of Health. It can also be used to treat heart failure. By sending electrical pulses to the heart, the device keeps a person’s heartbeat at a normal rhythm. Patients with pacemakers often return to regular activities within a few days, according to NIH.

The procedure normally involves a doctor inserting the pacemaker near the collarbone, according to Mayo Clinic. A hospital stay of at least a day is usually required.

As Netanyahu spoke, thousands of Israelis camped out in Jerusalem’s main park, just a short walk from the Knesset, after completing a four-day march from Tel Aviv to rally opposition to the judicial overhaul. Late Saturday, hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv and other cities in a last-ditch show of force hoping to head off the judicial overhaul.

In scorching heat that reached 33C, the procession into Jerusalem turned the city’s main entrance into a sea of blue and white Israeli flags as marchers completed the last leg of a four-day, 70-kilometre trek from Tel Aviv.

The marchers, who grew from hundreds to thousands as the march progressed, were welcomed in Jerusalem by throngs of cheering protesters before they set up camp in rows of small white tents.

The proposed overhaul has drawn harsh criticism from business and medical leaders, and a fast-rising number of military reservists in key units have said they will stop reporting for duty if the plan passes, raising concern that Israel’s security could be threatened. An additional 10,000 reservists announced they were suspending duty Saturday night, according to “Brothers in Arms,” a protest group representing retired soldiers.

More than 100 top former security chiefs, including retired military commanders, police commissioners and heads of intelligence agencies, joined those calls on Saturday, signing a letter to Netanyahu accusing him of compromising Israel’s military and urging him to halt the legislation.

The signatories included Ehud Barak, a former Israeli prime minister, and Moshe Yaalon, a former army chief and defence minister. Both are political rivals of Netanyahu.

“The legislation is crushing those things shared by Israeli society, is tearing the people apart, disintegrating the IDF and inflicting fatal blows on Israel’s security,” the former officials wrote.

In his statement, Netanyahu said he would continue to seek a compromise with his opponents. He paused the plan in March after widespread demonstrations, but he revived it last month after compromise talks collapsed.

Israel Katz, a senior Cabinet minister from Netanyahu’s Likud party, said the bill would pass one way or another Monday and rejected the pressure from the ranks of the military, the most respected institution among Israel’s Jewish majority. “There is a clear attempt here to use military service to force the government to change policy,” he told Channel 12 TV.

The overhaul measure would limit the Supreme Court’s oversight powers by preventing judges from striking down government decisions on the basis that they are “unreasonable.”

Proponents say the current “reasonability” standard gives judges excessive powers over decision-making by elected officials. Critics say removing the standard, which is invoked only in rare cases, would allow the government to pass arbitrary decisions, make improper appointments or firings and open the door to corruption.

Monday’s vote would mark the first major piece of legislation to be approved.

The overhaul also calls for other sweeping changes aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary, from limiting the Supreme Court’s ability to challenge parliamentary decisions, to changing the way judges are selected.

Protesters, who come from a wide swath of Israeli society, see the overhaul as a power grab fueled by personal and political grievances of Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, and his partners, who want to deepen Israel’s control of the occupied West Bank and perpetuate controversial draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men.

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Defiant Netanyahu vows to press ahead with key vote on contentious judicial reform

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday vowed to press ahead with his contentious judicial overhaul, despite unprecedented mass protests at home, growing defections by military reservists and appeals from the U.S. president to put the plan on hold.

Netanyahu’s message, delivered in a prime time address on national television, set the stage for stepped-up street protests in the coming days leading up to a fateful vote expected Monday. Thousands of people marched through central Tel Aviv on Thursday night, while others continued a roughly 70 kilometer (roughly 45 mile) march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Netanyahu was at times conciliatory during his address, saying he understands the differences of opinion that have bitterly divided the country and offering to seek a compromise with his political opponents.

But he was also defiant, saying his opponents were bent on toppling him and lashing out at the scores of military reservists who say they will stop reporting for duty if the plan is passed. Some have already quit.

“The refusal to serve threatens the security of every citizen of Israel,” he said.

Parliament is expected to vote Monday on a bill that would curtail the Supreme Court’s oversight powers by limiting its ability to strike down decisions it deems “unreasonable.” The reasonability standard is meant as a safeguard to protect against corruption and improper appointments of unqualified people.

The bill is one of several keystone pieces of the Netanyahu government’s judicial overhaul plan. Netanyahu and his allies — a collection of ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties — say the plan is needed to curb what they consider excessive powers of unelected judges.

Critics say the legislation will concentrate power in the hands of Netanyahu and his far-right allies and undermine the country’s system of checks and balance. They also say Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, has a conflict of interest.

The proposal has bitterly divided the Israeli public and attracted appeals from U.S. President Joe Biden for Netanyahu to slow down and forge a broad national consensus before passing any legislation.

After Netanyahu’s speech, opposition leader Yair Lapid urged Netanyahu to defy his coalition allies and halt the legislation.

“This extremist group has no mandate to turn Israel into a messianic and non-democratic state,” Lapid said. “The Netanyahu government is waging a war of attrition against the citizens of Israel.”

Perhaps the biggest threat to the plan are growing calls by military reservists who say they will stop reporting for duty in key units. They include fighter pilots, commandos and cyberwar officers.

Israeli leaders and military commanders have expressed growing alarm, saying the refusals to serve could hurt the country’s security. Reservists, whose service is voluntary, make up the backbone of Israel’s military.

On Thursday, the former head of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency, Nadav Argaman, voiced support for the reservists.

“We need to stop this legislation by any means,” he told the Army Radio station, saying the reservists “are very concerned and fearful for the security of the state of Israel.”

Argaman was appointed head of the Shin Bet by Netanyahu in 2016 and stepped down in 2021.

Netanyahu said the refusals to serve undermined Israel’s democratic institutions, in which the army is subordinate to the government and not the other way around. “If they succeed in carrying out their threats, that is a blow to democracy,” he said.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have joined mass protests against the overhaul since it was proposed in January, and business leaders have said that a weaker judiciary will drive international investors away.

In Tel Aviv, movement leaders staged a “night of resistance,” marching through the city’s streets, beating drums and blaring horns. Police used water cannons to clear protesters from a major highway.

The movement has also begun to shift its focus from Tel Aviv, where weekly demonstrations draw tens of thousands, to Jerusalem, where the parliament is set to vote next week.

Hundreds of protesters packed up rows of small white tents and continued a march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, where they plan to camp outside parliament ahead of the vote.

Protesters flocked outside the home of the chairman of the Histadrut, Israel’s national labor union. The Histadrut ordered a strike in March, leading Netanyahu to freeze the overhaul. Netanyahu revived the plan last month after talks seeking compromise with opposition lawmakers failed. But the union has yet to authorize another strike.

After Netanyahu’s statement, movement leaders vowed further escalation. “We call on all those who care about Israel’s future as a democracy to take to the streets,” said Josh Drill, a protest spokesman.

Presidents of major Israeli universities said they would hold a strike Sunday to protest the bill, according to reports from Israeli media. Doctors held a two-hour “warning strike” Wednesday to protest the overhaul, which they said would wreak havoc on the healthcare system by granting politicians greater control over public health.

They vowed more severe measures if the bill is voted through.

The judicial overhaul plan was announced shortly after Netanyahu took office as prime minister following November’s parliamentary elections. It was Israel’s fifth election in under four years, with all of the votes serving as a referendum on his leadership while facing legal charges.

Critics say removing the reasonability standard would allow the government to appoint unqualified cronies to important positions without oversight. They also say that it could clear the way for Netanyahu to fire the current attorney general — seen by supporters as a bulwark against the overhaul plan — or appoint legal officials who could ease his way out of the corruption charges he is facing in an ongoing trial.

Netanyahu now heads the country’s most ultranationalist and religiously conservative government in Israel’s 75-year history.

(AP)

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Netanyahu faces mounting security challenges as violence spirals in West Bank

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Benjamin Netanyahu and his loyalists released a brief cry of victory on June 22 morning as the judges at Jerusalem’s District Court told the prosecution that it “would be difficult” to prove allegations of bribery against the Prime Minister in one of the central cases currently deliberated, commonly known as Case 4000. This was seen by Mr. Netanyahu’s team as proof that charges were trumped up.


EDITORIAL | Spiralling violence: On the West Bank

But the next day, Israeli Attorney General and Chief Prosecutor, Gali Baharav-Myara, stated that prosecution will continue, nevertheless. Adv. Boaz Ben-Tzur, head of Mr. Netanyahu’s legal team, called the decision “haphazard and outrageous”.

Military escalation

But the legal challenges Mr. Netanyahu is dealing with have been dwarfed by the mounting security and political challenges his administration is facing. The incidents of the last week left behind a trail of attacks and armed clashed of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) with Palestinian gunmen, and later with radical settler groups, which included military escalation not witnessed since the second Intifada, 20 years ago.

The crisis broke out on early Monday morning (June 19), when IDF special forces entered Burkin and the Jenin Refugee Camp to arrest two affiliates of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), who had allegedly been involved in planning recent shooting attacks on Israelis. On their way out of the camp, Palestinians detonated an IED which incapacitated several of the armored personnel carriers, wounding seven soldiers. The IDF top brass views the incident as particularly worrisome, as it shows footprints of Iranian military training and tactics used by their proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

As the convoy called in for rescue, a fierce gunbattle developed, which raged on for 11 hours. The IDF scrambled two Apache attack helicopters to secure the evacuation, in what was the first time the Israeli Air Force fought in the territories since the second Intifada of 2000-2005.

File picture of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
| Photo Credit:
via Reuters

At the end of the battle, over 30 Palestinians were wounded and seven dead, including a 15-year-old boy, Ahmed Sakr, and 15-year-old girl, Sedil Naghaghiya.

The UN Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) issued a statement saying that it “deplores the death by live ammunition of two Palestinian refugee children”. Israeli leadership rejected the accusations, saying as all the dead, including the young boy, were identified by Hamas and the PIJ as their own. Even Naghaghiya’s body was wrapped in PIJ flag for her funeral procession.

Attack in Eli

But violence didn’t end there. On Tuesday afternoon (June 20), two Hamas gunmen entered a gas station adjacent to the settlement of Eli and opened fire on diners at the Hummus Eliyahu restaurant, killing four Israelis: Nahman Mordoff (17), Elisha Anteman (18), Harel Masood (21), and 63-year-old Ofer Fayerman, and injuring three others.

The gunmen, identified as Muhanad Shehada and Khaled Sabah, from the village of Urif, members of Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades, were killed — one on the spot, by an armed settler, and the other by IDF forces, after a chase.

Settler violence

This led to a violent raid of Palestinian villages by radical settler youth, colloquially known as “Hilltop Youth”, primarily from the settlement of Yitzhar. They entered the villages of Turmus Ayya, Huwara and Luban al-Sharkiya, setting fire to fields, about 50 cars, and 30 houses. As the IDF moved in to restore law and order, clashes ensued with Palestinians, reportedly resulting in the death of a 27-year-old man in Turmus Ayya.

The next night, an IDF drone shot missiles at a car from which armed militants had opened fire at the Jalma border crossing, killing two militants from the PIJ and one from the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). IDF spokesman said they had been responsible for multiple shooting attacks.

Adding another layer to Mr. Netanyahu’s mound of worries, the focus of international media and governments was on the attacks on Palestinian property by the Hilltop Youth, not on the Palestinian violence. This is a new phenomenon that many accredit to the tacit approval of radicals in Mr. Netanyahu’s government, with fingers being pointed at Finance Minister, Betzazel Smotrich, who also holds responsibilities in the Ministry of Defense, and at Internal Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, who possesses a long record of radical activism from before he entered Parliament.

On Friday, a delegation of 18 EU ambassadors came to Turmus Ayya to express their solidarity. None of them visited the settlement of Eli, which they view as illegal. U.S. State Department Spokesman, Vedant Patel, also released a harsh condemnation, demanding Israel prosecute the rioters and compensate for damages to property.

On Sunday, Kan Reshet Bet public radio reported that U.S. administration officials announced they would reverse Trump era policy and restrict all scientific and technological collaborations over the 1967 Green Line, in the territories claimed by Israel. While this was a calculated blow aimed at Mr. Netanyahu’s government, it also painted roughly half a million Israeli settlers as violent extremists.

Mutual prosperity

This reporter met Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, the rabbi of the Har Bracha settlement, a settler leader, leading author of religious literature, and noted critic of settler violence. His settlement is across the valley from Yitzhar, where the most avid supporters of revenge attacks live.

He made it unequivocally clear that he opposes any infringement on Palestinian human rights, and believes in coexistence and mutual prosperity, despite his Palestinian neighbors’ radical Islamic beliefs. When asked about Yitzhar, he opposed their actions, but his rhetoric remained reserved.

But another senior figure in Har Bracha was furious and wanted to set the score straight on what settlers think of the Hilltop Youth. “They are enemies of the settlers. I risk my life daily riding on the highway via Huwara. I rode through there one hour before the Feb. 23 murder of Hillel and Yagel Yaniv, and again the following day.” 

“These young brats think they are great heroes going on their wanton vandalism. The only thing they accomplish is having the whole world portray us not as victims of terror, but as savages. They are an insult to everything we stand for: our religion, our personal sacrifices, and our prayers for peaceful coexistence despite everything we endure,” said the person.

Yeshaya Rosenman is the head of the South Asia Project at Sharaka NGO, Tel Aviv

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Israeli jets and Islamic Jihad in deadly duel in Gaza

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There has been a third day of bloodshed, mourning and intense fighting as the Israeli air force targeted leaders of Islamic Jihad in their homes while Palestinians responded with rocket barrages.

Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip killed two militant commanders on Thursday, while a 70-year-old man was killed by Palestinian rocket fire in the first fatality inside Israel amid the current wave of fighting. The continuing bloodshed, which has left 28 Palestinians dead, came despite Egyptian efforts to broker a ceasefire.

It has been the worst bout of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza in months, with at least 10 civilians — mostly women and children — among the dead. The conflagration, now on its third day, comes at a time of soaring tensions and spiking violence over the past year in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinian militants launched unrelenting rocket barrages into Israel throughout the day. One rocket struck an apartment block in the central Israeli city of Rehovot, killing a 70-year-old man, the MADA rescue service said. It said four others were moderately wounded.

Earlier Thursday, the Israeli military pressed ahead with its strikes against the Islamic Jihad militant group and said a senior commander in charge of the group’s rocket launching force, Ali Ghali, was killed when his apartment was hit.

Later in the day, Israel said it killed another Islamic Jihad commander who was meant to replace Ghali in southern Gaza. Islamic Jihad confirmed the man, Ahmed Abu Daqqa, was one of its commanders.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said a total of 28 people have been killed since the fighting erupted. Among the dead were at least nine Islamic Jihad militants, 10 civilians and nine others, including four whom Israel says were killed in failed rocket launches, whose affiliation remained uncertain.

Military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told Israeli Army Radio that two other militants were also killed in the early morning strike, although no group immediately claimed them as members, and that the rest of the building remained intact.

“The apartment was targeted in a very precise way,” Hagari said. “I hope this leads to a reduction, a blow and a disruption of the Islamic Jihad rocket abilities.”

The strikes targeted the top floor of a building in a residential, Qatari-built complex in the southern Gaza Strip. The pre-dawn airstrike in the city of Khan Younis caused damage to three surrounding buildings. The complex, known as Hamad City, consists of several tall buildings and thousands of housing units. The strike created panic among residents, with falling debris and shattered glass littering the streets.

“My children started crying. I did not see anything because of the dust, broken glasses, and debris,” said Abdullah Hemaid, who lives across from the targeted building.

Islamic Jihad said Ghali was a commander in charge of its rocket squad and a member of its armed group’s decision-making body. The group has said it will only ceasefire if Israel agrees to halt targeted killings of its fighters.

The current round of fighting erupted overnight Tuesday when Israel killed three senior Islamic Jihad commanders in near-simultaneous airstrikes.

On Wednesday, a state-run Egyptian TV station announced that Egypt, a frequent mediator between the sides, had brokered a ceasefire. But with the violence continuing late Thursday, there was still no breakthrough.

The Israeli military says that in its strikes on some 150 targets, it has zeroed in on militants with what it says are precision strikes. But children, among them a 4-year-old, were also killed.

Hagari, the military spokesman, told Army Radio that a quarter of the rockets launched have fallen in Gaza, killing at least four, including a 10-year-old girl, two 16-year-olds and a 51-year-old man. That claim could not immediately be independently confirmed.

Ceasefire talks in Cairo

Efforts to mediate a ceasefire were still underway Thursday with top Islamic Jihad political bureau member Mohamad al-Hindi arriving in Cairo to discuss details. A delegation of Egyptian mediators also was travelling to Israel, according to Israeli press reports.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that “despite our strenuous efforts, these efforts still have not yielded the desired fruits and results.”

Israeli officials declined to comment.

The initial Israeli airstrikes set off a burst of rocket fire on Wednesday that triggered air-raid sirens throughout southern and central Israel.

The military said more than 500 rockets have been fired toward Israel. It said most were intercepted by Israel’s missile defence system or fell in open areas.

Damage was reported when rockets slammed into buildings that were empty because residents had fled the area. Three buildings in the southern town of Sderot were struck Thursday, officials said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Israel says the airstrikes are a response to a barrage of rocket fire launched last week by Islamic Jihad in response to the death of one of its West Bank members from a hunger strike while in Israeli custody.

Israel has come under international criticism for the high civilian toll. In past conflicts, rights groups have accused Israel of committing war crimes due to the high number of civilian deaths. Israel says it does its utmost to avoid civilian casualties and holds militant groups responsible because they operate in heavily populated residential areas. It also says militants fire rockets indiscriminately at Israeli communities.

In signs that both sides were trying to show restraint, Israel has avoided attacks on the ruling Hamas militant group, targeting only the smaller and more militant Islamic Jihad. Hamas, which has much more to lose than Islamic Jihad, also has remained on the sidelines.

Israel and Hamas have fought four wars and numerous smaller engagements since the Islamic militant group took control of Gaza in 2007.

The army said that schools would remain closed and restrictions on large gatherings would remain in place in southern Israel until at least Friday. Residents were instructed to stay near bomb shelters.

Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli-Palestinian violence has surged over the past year, the Palestinian Health Ministry said a 30-year-old man died after he was shot by Israeli troops in a raid on Wednesday, and that a 66-year-old Palestinian man died after he was shot during a gun battle between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants in a refugee camp near the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem on Thursday.

The Israeli army said it has arrested 25 suspected Islamic Jihad members in West Bank raids in recent days.

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Boycotting Israel’s new government would only make it more anti-EU

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By Shlomo Roiter Jesner, President and co-founder, Cambridge Middle East and North Africa Forum

The outcome of Israel’s fifth election in under four years has had many in the European Union concerned.

Referred to as the victory of Israel’s extreme right, Benjamin Netanyahu saw himself return to the prime minister’s office in November of last year after elections in June 2021 saw his 12-year streak as PM come to an abrupt end.

Building a solid 64-seat coalition in the Knesset, Netanyahu has managed to establish an absolute majority with the help of his long-term ultra-orthodox partners along with the newly established right-wing Religious Zionism party.

This is arguably the strongest coalition — percentage-wise and ideologically — that Israel has seen in years.

Claims that the coalition will fall apart or that it is only a temporary step in Netanyahu’s quest to form a more moderate government are wishful thinking.

And while concerns over what this government might be capable of are well-founded, many are still overplayed.

Instead, it might be more prudent to think about potential opportunities for EU foreign policy engagement with Israel’s government because, as things stand, it is more than likely there to stay.

Promises to far-right voters are largely symbolic

The EU is rightfully concerned over a number of primary issues. Concerns over the government’s proposed judicial reform plan have been at the top of the list, which would see Israel’s High Court capable of exerting significantly fewer checks and balances over the country’s executive branch. 

EU officials have kept surprisingly silent on the issue, preferring to see how the legislation, which is currently being renegotiated in light of widespread domestic opposition, plays out prior to commenting.

Despite claims to the contrary, the annexation of the West Bank — another concern high on EU decision-makers’ agendas — is not a realistic prospect. 

No matter how right-wing his government, Netanyahu is, above all, an international statesman who understands the full implications of such a move, both against his relationship with the current US administration and Abraham Accords nations. 

It is exactly this practical approach which saw Netanyahu step back from the proposed judicial reform plan, which brought the country out in droves to demonstrate in Israel’s biggest demonstrations since the 2011 cost of living protests.

While progress will undoubtedly be made to “lay the groundwork” for annexation and appease a right-wing electorate, the EU or the UN overreacting to such largely symbolic steps would be counterproductive.

Such was the case with the UN vote around the new government’s election, which requested an opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legal status of Israel’s “prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.”

The trouble on Temple Mount

An example where this type of symbolic “groundwork” is at its most apparent is the Temple Mount, a bone of contention where even a simple change in the status quo can inflame tensions across the entire West Bank. 

Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition partner Itamar Ben Gvir has been a long-time advocate of increased Jewish rights on the hill in Jerusalem’s Old City, considered holy by Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities alike.

With the High Court of Justice in the past affirming the right of Jews to pray — setting as the only caveat the police’s ability to limit this due to public security concerns — the status quo can be expected to almost certainly change with Ben Gvir as Minister of National Security. 

This has already been apparent over the course of the Passover holiday, when hundreds of Jewish worshippers ascended the Mount, despite recent riots and the continued barricades in the Al Aqsa Mosque. 

The ascension of Jewish worshippers under similar security circumstances in previous years would have been unthinkable.

It has also been apparent from the heavy-handed reaction the security services have taken against challenges from agitators on the Temple Mount.

Although some of the roughly 400 people who barricaded themselves inside the mosque and assaulted the Israel Police with fireworks, sticks and stones, forcing the security forces to enter the premises, might have been extremists, even Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai was made to admit that he was unhappy with footage that surfaced of violence employed at Al Aqsa.

Extreme policing tactics have undoubtedly been encouraged by the approach of Ben Gvir, responsible for overseeing the Israel Police in his capacity as minister. 

Ben Gvir has called for a more heavy-handed response to security challenges, including those posed by Israeli demonstrators in recent anti-judicial reform protests.

Taking a page out of Biden’s book

Again, the EU should be wary of reading such a change as something it is not — such as, for example, a denial of Palestinian rights to access the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa. 

Despite Palestinian and even Jordanian claims to the contrary, the status quo has not been violated, and any overreaction would only play into the right wing’s hands, which already portrays the EU as an actor antithetical to Israel’s national interest.

US President Joe Biden, although recently relatively disengaged from the Middle East-related issues, is well experienced in handling Netanyahu government crises from his time in the Obama administration.

EU decision-makers would do well to learn from his ability to walk a fine line between what is perceived as strategic criticism and delicate leverage applied. 

With regard to the plans for judicial reform, Biden, for example, expressed concern over the prospects for democratic backsliding in Israel, and even dispatched Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to the region to hammer the point home. 

Yet, he refrained from taking any further steps on the issue despite calls to react more firmly.

Concerns have also been expressed over the representation of Israel’s Arab population in the Knesset. 

Despite challenges posed by the right, Israeli Arabs are represented by a total of 10 legislators in the Knesset. And indicatively, the threat posed by the right wing increased the percentage of Arab voters by around 8.5% in the recent election. 

EU’s own policy towards the far-right is that of appeasement, anyway

European decision-makers would do well to see them, as well as other more moderate members of the opposition, as strategic partners while not ostracising the government itself. 

Danish Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Asger Christensen’s approach was very instructive in this regard, saying, “It is Israel’s decision [to shift to the far-right]. We will cooperate with that decision.”

Even if Israel has a far-right government, he added, “We want to expand cooperation with Israel in Europe”.

Such a policy of continued, potentially critical, engagement would be very much in line with EU policies towards previous governments, such as the most recent Benett-Lapid coalition. 

This was treated as a perfectly legitimate government, with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen even paying the notoriously hawkish Naftali Benett a visit to Jerusalem in June of last year. 

This was despite the Ra’am party’s key position in the coalition. Ra’am, also known as the United Arab List, founded by convicted terrorist Sheikh Abdullah Darwish, remains affiliated with Israel’s Islamic Movement and is openly homophobic.

A policy of engagement would also be very much in line with the EU’s own policy towards right-wing governments in the EU — a pragmatic approach considering how the far right has become increasingly stronger, as was seen from the recent Italian and Swedish elections. 

Ignoring, or worse, boycotting, Israel’s new government, no matter how right-wing or extreme, is precisely the move many in the incoming government anticipate in order to both justify their anti-European narrative and policies which emphasize why “Jewish” interests must be placed above all else.

Shlomo Roiter Jesner is the president and co-founder of the Cambridge Middle East and North Africa Forum. He is also the CEO of London-based F&R Strategy Group, a geopolitical consultancy at the intersection of politics and business.

At Euronews, we believe all views matter. Contact us at [email protected] to send pitches or submissions and be part of the conversation.

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Israel bombs Lebanon and Gaza as Netanyahu promises enemies ‘will pay’

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Israeli military struck targets located in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip as its Prime Minister says it will ‘extract a heavy price from our enemies’. The country blames Hamas militants for rocket attacks on Israel.

Israel’s military hit sites in Lebanon and Gaza early on Friday, in retaliation for rocket attacks it blamed on the Islamist group Hamas, as tensions following police raids this week on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem threatened to spiral out of control.

Loud blasts rocked different areas of Gaza, as Israel said its jets hit targets including tunnels and weapons manufacturing sites of Hamas, which controls the blockaded southern coastal strip, as well as a heavy machine gun used for anti-aircraft fire.

As daybreak neared, the military said it had also struck Hamas targets in southern Lebanon, where residents around the area of the Rashidiyeh refugee camp reported three loud blasts.

Two Lebanese security sources said the strike hit a small structure on farmland near the area from which the rockets had been launched earlier. They had no reports of casualties.

The strikes came in response to rocket attacks from Lebanon towards northern Israeli areas, which Israeli officials blamed on Hamas. The military said 34 rockets were launched from Lebanon, of which 25 were intercepted by air defence systems. It was the biggest such attack since 2006, when Israel fought a war with the heavily armed Hezbollah movement.

“Israel’s response, tonight and later, will exact a significant price from our enemies,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said following a security cabinet meeting.

As the Israeli jets struck in Gaza, salvoes of rockets were fired in response and sirens sounded in Israeli towns and cities in bordering areas, however there were no reports of serious casualties.

The crossborder strikes came amid an escalating confrontation over Israeli police raids at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which this year coincides with the Jewish Passover holiday.

“We hold the Zionist occupation fully responsible for the grave escalation and the flagrant aggression against the Gaza Strip and for the consequences that will bring onto the region,” Hamas said in a statement.

Although Israel blamed Hamas for Thursday’s attack, which took place as Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh was visiting Lebanon, security experts said Hezbollah, the powerful Shi’ite group which helps Israel’s main enemy Iran project its power across the region, must have given its permission.

“It’s not Hezbollah shooting, but it’s hard to believe that Hezbollah didn’t know about it,” Tamir Hayman, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, said on Twitter.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati issued a statement condemning any military operations from its territory that threatened stability but there was no immediate comment from Hezbollah. Earlier on Thursday, before the rockets were fired, senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine said any infringement on Al-Aqsa “will inflame the entire region”.

UNIFIL, the UN. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, said it had been in contact with the parties and said both sides had said they did not seek war but it said the situation risked escalation.

“We urge all parties to cease all actions across the Blue Line now,” it said, referring to the frontier demarcation between the two countries.

US condemns rocket attacks and mosque storming

Palestinian factions in Lebanon, which have a presence in the refugee camps, have fired sporadically on Israel in the past. But the border area has been largely quiet since the 2006 war with Hezbollah.

The US State Department condemned the launch of rockets from Lebanon and earlier strikes from Gaza and said Israel had the right to defend itself.

But it also expressed concern at the scenes in the Al-Aqsa mosque, where Israeli police were filmed beating worshippers during raids that officials said were to dislodge groups of young men who had barricaded themselves inside the mosque.

The Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem’s Old City is Islam’s third holiest site, where hundreds of thousands pray during Ramadan. Known to Jews as Temple Mount, the location of the two biblical Jewish temples, it is also Judaism’s most sacred site, although non-Muslims are not allowed to pray there.

It has long been a flashpoint for tensions. Clashes there in 2021 helped to trigger a 10-day war between Israel and Gaza.

There has been widespread anger among Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza over the police actions as well as condemnation from across the Arab world.

Late on Thursday, police said there were also disturbances in a number of Arab cities in Israel itself, including Umm el-Fahem, Sakhnin and Nazareth.

Plumes of smoke

The worsening security situation adds a further complication for Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist government, which has faced mass protests over its now-suspended plans to curb the powers of the Supreme Court.

However, opposition leader Yair Lapid said the government could count on cross-party support following the rocket attack and Netanyahu said Israelis stood behind the security forces.

“The internal debate in Israel will not prevent us from taking action against them wherever and whenever necessary. All of us, without exception, are united on this,” Netanyahu said.

In the aftermath of Thursday’s rocket attack, TV footage showed large plumes of smoke rising above the northern Israeli border town of Shlomi, with wrecked cars in the streets. Israel Airports Authority said it had closed the northern airports in Haifa and Rosh Pina.

“I’m shaking, I’m in shock,” Liat Berkovitch Kravitz told Israel’s Channel 12 news, speaking from a fortified room in her house in Shlomi. “I heard a boom, it was as if it exploded inside the room.”

The Israeli military said mortar shells were also fired across the border.

Amid fears that the confrontation could spiral further following a year of rising Israeli-Palestinian violence, the U.N. Security Council held a closed door meeting to discuss the crisis.

“It’s going to be important for everyone to do what they can to calm tensions,” US Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, Robert Wood, told reporters on his way into the meeting.

Thursday’s attack followed a number of rocket launches towards Israel from Gaza, most of which were intercepted. Israel responded to the launches with airstrikes on sites linked to Hamas, which it holds responsible for any attacks from the blockaded coastal strip.

Speaking from Gaza, Mohammad Al-Braim, spokesman for the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees, praised the rocket strikes from Lebanon, which he linked to the Al-Aqsa incidents, but did not claim responsibility.

He said “no Arab and no Muslim would keep silent while (Al-Aqsa) is being raided in such a savage and barbaric way without the enemy paying the price for its aggression.”

(Reuters)

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Situation in Palestinian Territories ‘is completely hopeless if you’re young’

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Palestinian human rights lawyer and former diplomat Ghaith al-Omari, a prominent advocate of the two-state solution and negotiations with Israel, gave FRANCE 24 a lengthy interview on a recent visit to Paris. In this first of a two-part series, he lamented the lack of hope and prospects for Palestinian youth. 

Ghaith al-Omari has long been a key player in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, acting as a Palestinian negotiator at the 2000 Camp David Summit convened by then-US president Bill Clinton and again at the 2001 Taba Summit in Egypt. He was an adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas until 2006. With the peace process stalled since 2014, he now works as a senior fellow at the Washington Institute’s Irwin Levy Family Program on the US-Israel Strategic Relationship. 

Al-Omari was in Paris last week to unveil the Whispered in Gaza project – a series of short animated films based on the testimonies of Palestinians living in Gaza, recounting their daily struggles under the rule of extremist Palestinian group Hamas and the Israeli blockade, both of which have been entrenched since 2007. 

In the first part of the interview, al-Omari spoke about the especially difficult situation faced by young Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank, many of whom feel desperately unhappy as they endure economic crisis and political paralysis. 

Former Palestinian negotiator Ghaith al-Omari pictured on March 22, 2023 in Paris. © FRANCE 24

Al-Omari also discussed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, widely seen as the most hardline in Israeli history, and which rules out any revival of the peace process.  

 

What are the prospects for the average 20-year-old in Gaza today? 

Unfortunately, the prospects are extremely dim. They have no options. The ability to find work, to find employment in Gaza, is non-existent. The economy in Gaza has been destroyed – partly because of the siege by Israel but also because of the practices of Hamas. Today, if you want to have a business in Gaza, you have to be either a member of Hamas or close to Hamas. If you don’t, you have no prospects. 

That’s why we see so many young people in Gaza taking huge risks and emigrating through the Mediterranean. Every day or two we hear about Palestinians from Gaza drowning in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe. The situation today is completely hopeless if you’re a young Palestinian. 

And what about the West Bank? 

In the West Bank the situation is also hopeless. The economic situation is better; it is more open to the Israeli market, it is more open to Jordan. But there are also no prospects. The Israeli occupation creates limits on economic development – but the Palestinian Authority’s corruption also [leads to a] lack of opportunity for young people in the West Bank.

In both the West Bank and Gaza, there is also no space for political activism. It’s not only that the economy is dead, it is also that political life is dead. Actually, I was looking at a poll earlier: 50 percent [of people] in Gaza feel they cannot safely criticise Hamas; 50 percent in the West Bank feel they cannot safely criticise the Palestinian Authority. So you can’t have economic opportunity – and if you do not have political opportunity, you end up with despair. Today, this is what we have in Gaza and in the West Bank. 

So how can you give young Palestinians hope in politics and democracy, amid all this despair?

First of all, I think we need to start with steps that address Palestinian-Israeli relations, because you cannot talk about Palestinian domestic affairs without talking about the Israeli occupation. We cannot end it today […]. But we – and by we, I mean the international community – need to pressure Israel to take more steps that will move us closer to ending the occupation, and we need to take a stronger position when Israeli cabinet ministers make unacceptable statements.

Second, we need to apply pressure on the authorities both in Gaza and in the West Bank. In Gaza there are regional backers for Hamas. Qatar is their biggest economic backer; Turkey is their biggest political backer. And these are countries that are open to pressure from Europe, from the United States. Qatar is a close ally, [a] commercial ally with Europe, with the US. Turkey is a member of NATO and dependent on [it]. So we need to pressure them to create more political space [in Gaza].

We also need to work with our Arab allies, Jordan and Egypt, to pressure the Palestinian Authority to open the political space.

Third, we need to look at the economic situation and try to address the Palestinian private sector directly – not to go through governments, because both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas are corrupt. We need to fund projects on the ground – either ones that benefit a large number of Palestinians like infrastructure, or projects that invest in the private sector to allow for an independent private sector that can be resistant to pressure from the government. 

You’ve participated in several rounds of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Would you tell a young Palestinian to continue hoping for a two-state solution, which is to say, a Palestinian state coexisting with Israel? 

 Yes, because there is simply no alternative to this solution, and it is never too late for dialogue. At the end of the day, we have learned that Israel is here to stay; it will not disappear. The Palestinians will not disappear. And the only way to solve this conflict is through dialogue. Only a solution with two states, where each nation can express its aspirations and identity, is viable. However, today that is not possible. It is not possible for both Palestinian and Israeli reasons. 

On the Palestinian side, the Palestinian Authority is too weak. To reach a peace deal, you need strong leaders. Peace is a good thing – but peace is also a painful thing. Peace requires compromises. The Palestinians will have to give up some things that are important to them, and so will the Israelis. […] And when the leaders are weak, the leaders do not have the legitimacy to make these decisions. So on the Palestinian side, they’re too weak to reach a deal.

On the Israeli side, they do not want a deal. Today, the Israeli government does not support the two-state solution. That’s very clear. They are quite openly against a two-state solution. Moreover, some members [of the government], some very powerful members – like Finance Minister [Bezalel] Smotrich and Security Minister [Itamar] Ben-Gvir – these are people who want to annex the West Bank. These are people who do not even recognise that the Palestinians exist – Smotrich said it here in Paris. (Editor’s note: at a March 19 gala event in Paris, Smotrich told the crowd: “There are no Palestinians, there are just Arabs.”) So today it is impossible.   

This article was translated from the original in French. 

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Explained | Why are Israelis protesting the government’s proposed judicial reforms?

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The story so far: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on March 27 that he would temporarily freeze his judicial overhaul plans to seek a compromise following widespread demonstrations and a general strike that paralysed the Jewish nation.

Mr. Netanyahu, 73, said he ordered the “timeout” on the legislation till the Knesset (Parliament) recess was over, “to give a real opportunity for real dialogue”. He urged protestors “to behave responsibly and refrain from violence” as thousands of Israelis protested the reforms, including workers from a range of sectors, and descended into Jerusalem.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on the government to stop the judicial overhaul, a day after Mr. Netanyahu fired defence minister Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for opposing the judicial reforms. Mr. Herzog warned that the move put the country’s security, economy and society under threat, and called on the government to set aside political considerations for the sake of the nation.

Mr. Netanyahu fired Defence Minister Yoav Gallant after he said in televised address on Saturday night that the judicial overhaul “poses a clear, immediate, and tangible threat to the security of the state”. This intensified protests, with tens of thousands taking to the street on Sunday night.

The protests

In Tel Aviv, protesters blocked a main highway and lit large bonfires. They also gathered outside Mr. Netanhayu’s home in Jerusalem and clashed with police. Two protesters entered the Knesset building and shouted at Education Minister Yoav Kisch that he should resign, before being taken away by security.

The protests have mainly been organised by common people with no declared political affiliation, although the Opposition has expressed support for their cause.

On Monday, Arnon Bar-David, the head of Israel’s largest labour federation Histadrut, announced a “historic” labour strike to “stop the madness” of the government’s controversial judicial overhaul. The National Student and Youth Council, which represents middle and high school students, too declared a nationwide strike to start on Monday morning. The council called for “halting the [overhaul] legislation and starting negotiations immediately”.

Last week, on Thursday, Israel’s ruling coalition government passed a law that would protect Mr. Netanyahu from being deemed unfit to rule because of his ongoing corruption trial, Associated Press reported. Despite thousands of reservations expressed by the Opposition and the widespread protests, the government of Israel moved ahead with the Bills to reform the country’s judiciary. According to local newspaper The Times of Israel, the controversial judicial reform Bill was expected to go to vote in the Knesset, the Israeli legislature, sometime this week.

What reforms are being planned?

Israel’s governance system is divided into three parts – the executive (consisting of the President as Chief of State, the Prime Minister as Head of the Government, and the Cabinet, selected by the Prime Minister and approved by the Knesset), the legislature (the unicameral Knesset), and the judiciary (Supreme Court and subordinate courts including district and magistrate courts, national and regional labour courts, family and juvenile courts, and special and Rabbinical courts).

The current right-wing government in Israel is a coalition of six parties led by Mr. Netanyahu. The coalition government has put forth a list of changes to Israel’s judicial system that seeks to reduce the influence of the judiciary in the country. The Bill was introduced by Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Yariv Levin in January 2023 and will enhance the government’s control over Israel’s judiciary.

Currently, judges in Israel are appointed by the judicial selection committee, which consists of nine members. These nine members include the Supreme Court president, two Supreme Court justices (selected by the justices from among themselves), the justice minister, one Cabinet minister, two Knesset members selected through a secret vote, and two members of the Israel Bar Association.

Appointments of all judges other than those of the Supreme Court require a simple majority, with the quorum fixed at seven. aAppointments to the Supreme Court require at least seven out of nine votes from the committee members.

The coalition’s Bill proposes to remove Israel Bar Association members from the committee. The judicial selection committee will then consist of three Cabinet ministers including the justice minister, three members of the Knesset – two from the coalition including one chair of the Constitution, law and justice committee) and one from Opposition— the Supreme Court president, and two retired lower court judges appointed by the justice minister with the agreement of the Supreme Court president. All judges, including those of the Supreme Court, will be appointed by a simple majority of five votes. Simcha Rothman, one of the brains behind the judicial reforms in Israel, is the current chair of the Constitution, law and justice committee.

If approved, the new structure gives the coalition government an automatic majority of five votes (three Cabinet ministers and two coalition members from the Knesset) and influence over which retired lower court judges are chosen for the committee. This would effectively enable the coalition government to decide who presides over Israel’s courts, thus curbing the independence of the judiciary.

The Bill also says that courts, including the Supreme Court, will not address questions on the validity of a basic law, either directly or indirectly.

It must be noted that Mr. Netanyahu was officially disallowed from pushing the coalition agenda of judicial reform by Israel’s Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara due to an ongoing corruption trial against him, as per a R euters report. Mr. Netanyahu has denied all charges of wrongdoing.

What are Basic Laws in Israel?

Israel does not have a Constitution. The country is governed by a set of laws on various subjects such as land, President, government, economy, and judiciary. These laws are called the country’s Basic Laws.

How do Bills become laws in Israel?

There is no preliminary reading for a Bill introduced by the government or a Knesset committee. It is directly submitted in the Knesset plenum for the first reading stage. A Knesset committee then prepares it for second and third readings. Once approved by the committee for these readings, the plenum holds another debate on the Bill. Following the debate, two rounds of voting – on the second and third readings – are conducted (usually in succession). Once it passes all readings in the Knesset plenum, a Bill becomes a law in the Book of Laws of the State of Israel.

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Israeli PM Netanyahu freezes judicial overhaul, urges protesters to behave responsibly

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Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on March 27 that he would temporarily freeze his controversial judicial overhaul plans to seek a compromise following unprecedented demonstrations and a general strike that paralysed the Jewish nation.

Mr. Netanyahu, 73, said that he ordered “the timeout” on the contentious legislation until after the Knesset (Parliament) recess in order “to give a real opportunity for real dialogue”.

“One thing I am not willing to accept — there are a minority of extremists that are willing to tear our country to shreds… escorting us to civil war and calling for refusal of army service, which is a terrible crime,” the Israeli Prime Minister said.

Drawing analogy from the story of King Solomon from about 3,000 years ago when two women reached out with the claim over a baby boy and the king said to divide the infant in two halves to ascertain the real mother, Mr. Netanyahu said that he would not let that happen to Israel in his watch.

“When there’s an option to avoid civil war through dialogue, I take a time-out for dialogue…. out of national responsibility,” Mr. Netanyahu said, asserting that most of his coalition members backed the “reforms” and he could have done it if he wished so.

President Isaac Herzog said, “Stopping the legislation is the right thing. This is the time to begin a sincere, serious, and responsible dialogue that will urgently calm the waters and lower the flames.

“I call on everyone to act responsibly. Protests and demonstrations, on whichever side – yes. Violence – absolutely not! If one side wins, the state will lose. We must remain one people and one state – Jewish and democratic,” the President said.

“For the sake of our unity and for the sake of our children’s future, we must start talking, here and now. The President’s residence, the people’s home, is a space for dialogue and the formation of as broad agreements as possible, with the aim of extracting our beloved State of Israel from the deep crisis that we are in. And you gave peace in the Land, and eternal joy to its inhabitants,” Mr. Herzog added.

Mr. Netanyahu earlier on Monday urged protesters “to behave responsibly and refrain from violence” as Israelis from all over the country started descending into Jerusalem and workers from a range of sectors joined a protest movement against the government’s contentious plan.

Mr. Netanyahu’s appeal came hours after Mr. Herzog on Monday appealed to him to immediately halt his controversial judicial overhaul, warning that the move has put the country’s security, economy and society under threat.

Mr. Netanyahu in his first public statement since widespread demonstrations erupted in reaction to his sacking of the defence minister has urged protesters, from the left and right, “to behave responsibly and refrain from violence.” As Israelis from all over the country started descending into Jerusalem, in a tweet Mr. Netanyahu appeared to address fears of violent clashes this evening between opponents and supporters of the government’s judicial overhaul plan.

“All of us are brothers and sisters,” Mr. Netanyahu stressed in his tweet.

President Herzog’s appeal to Mr. Netanyahu came after the Prime Minister sacked Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for opposing his judicial reforms, sparking widespread street protests. The President also called on the government to put aside political considerations for the sake of the nation.

“Last night we witnessed very difficult scenes. I appeal to the Prime Minister, members of the Government, and members of the Coalition: there are harsh and painful feelings. The entire nation is rapt with deep worry,” Mr. Herzog said.

“Our security, economy, society — all are under threat. The whole people of Israel are looking at you. The whole Jewish People are looking at you. The whole world is looking at you,” the ceremonial President in a statement.

“For the sake of the unity of the People of Israel, for the sake of the necessary responsibility, I call on you to halt the legislative process immediately,” he emphasised.

He urged all the leaders in power to place the country’s citizens above all else.

“I appeal to the leaders of all Knesset factions, Coalition and Opposition alike, to place this country’s citizens above all else and to act with courage and responsibility without further delay. Wake up now! This is not a political moment; this is a moment for leadership and responsibility,” the President asserted.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Israel on Sunday night after Mr. Netanyahu fired Defence Minister Gallant after he said on Saturday that the judicial overhaul “poses a clear, immediate, and tangible threat to the security of the state”.

Irked by the televised speech given by Gallant, the Prime Minister’s Office in a terse statement Sunday evening said “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided, this evening [Sunday, 26 March 2023], to dismiss Defence Minister Yoav Gallant”.

The announcement led to a spontaneous and unprecedented outburst of anger against the country’s longest-serving prime minister.

An unconfirmed Channel 12 report said that 6,00,000-7,00,000 Israelis were demonstrating late on Sunday across the country, with protests reported from Kiryat Shmona in the north to Eilat in the south.

Protesters in Tel Aviv blocked a main highway and lit large bonfires, while police scuffled with protesters who gathered outside Mr. Netanyahu’s private home in Jerusalem.

The unrest sparked by Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s proposals to shake up the judiciary by severely curbing the High Court of Justice’s judicial review powers and the government’s efforts to cement political control over the appointment of judges has met with resistance not only in the streets of the country but also abroad with thousands of Jewish diaspora members protesting during Mr. Netanyahu’s visits to Italy, Germany and the U.K.

The protests have alarmed business leaders, former security chiefs and drawn concern from Israel’s close allies, including the United States.

The country has also seen economic disruption with talk of a “flight of capital” and hi-tech leaders and firms.

Arnon Bar-David, the head of Israel’s largest labour federation Histadrut, on Monday announced a “historic” labour strike in an attempt to “stop the madness” of the government’s controversial judicial overhaul.

“We are all worried about Israel’s fate,” Mr. Bar-David says. “Together we say, enough! We have lost our way — this is not about left or right. We can no longer polarise the nation,” the union head was quoted as saying in The Times of Israel newspaper.

Mr. Bar-David said the strike will begin as soon as Monday if Prime Minister Netanyahu does not announce a halt to the judicial overhaul.

Israel’s main airport Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Monday announced an immediate halt to all departing flights, minutes after the head of the Histadrut announced the “historic” labour strike.

The Histadrut also instructed all government employees to go on strike, including in all of Israel’s diplomatic missions around the world, the paper reported.

Citing a spokesperson for Israel’s Embassy in the United States, it confirmed that the mission has shut down until further notice.

The National Student and Youth Council, representing the high school and middle school students, declared a nationwide strike to start on Monday morning.

The council has called for “halting the [overhaul] legislation and starting negotiations immediately”.

Two protesters entered the Knesset building and shouted at Education Minister Yoav Kisch that he should resign. They were quickly bundled away by security guards.

As protests intensified accompanied by an unforeseen display of anger, some Likud Ministers relented, beginning to show their willingness to compromise.

Culture Minister Micky Zohar, a Netanyahu confidant, said the party would support him if he decided to pause the judicial overhaul.

Protest organisers, mostly common people with no declared political affiliation, continued to push for further demonstrations on Monday.

Political analysts see the development as a “grassroots movement” beyond the control of any political formation. The opposition though has been fully supportive and participating in the protests.

Legislation, which many argue is aimed at establishing executive supremacy over the judiciary, making it subservient to the government, is slated to come for the final readings this week in the Knesset.

Seen at the receiving end of international ire, including a rebuke from U.S. President Joe Biden, Mr. Netanyahu has looked weak and perplexed but also hesitant to step back from the proposed “reforms” because of fear of backlash within his ruling Likud party.

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Israeli President urges PM Netanyahu to halt legal overhaul; mass protests, strike ramp up pressure

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Workers from a range of sectors in Israel launched a nationwide strike on March 27, threatening to paralyse the economy as they joined a surging protest movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary.Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated outside parliament and workers launched a nationwide strike on Monday, as a surging mass protest movement threatened to paralyze the economy in its efforts to halt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary.

Departing flights from the country’s main international airport were grounded, large mall chains and universities shut their doors, and Israel’s largest trade union called for its 800,000 members — in health, transit, banking and other fields — to stop work. Diplomats walked off the job at foreign missions, local governments were expected to close the preschools they run and cut other services, and the main doctors union announced its members would also strike.

The growing resistance to Netanyahu’s plan came hours after tens of thousands of people burst into the streets around the country in a spontaneous show of anger at the prime minister’s decision to fire his defense minister after he called for a pause to the overhaul. Chanting “the country is on fire,” they lit bonfires on Tel Aviv’s main highway, closing the thoroughfare and many others throughout the country for hours.

Demonstrators gathered again Monday outside the Knesset, or parliament, turning the streets surrounding the building and the Supreme Court into a roiling sea of blue-and-white Israeli flags dotted with rainbow Pride banners. Large demonstrations in Tel Aviv, Haifa and other Israeli cities drew thousands more.

“This is the last chance to stop this move into a dictatorship,” said Matityahu Sperber, 68, who joined a stream of people headed to the protest outside the Knesset. “I’m here for the fight to the end.”

Also Read | Israel passes law protecting Netanyahu as protests continue

It was unclear how Netanyahu would respond to the growing pressure. Some members of Netanyahu’s Likud party said they would support the prime minister if he did heed calls to halt the overhaul, while Israeli media, citing unnamed sources, reported that he could indeed pause it.

The plan — driven by Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, and his allies in Israel’s most right-wing government ever — has plunged Israel into one of its worst domestic crises. It has sparked sustained protests that have galvanized nearly all sectors of society, including its military, where reservists have increasingly come out publicly to say they will not serve a country veering toward autocracy.

Israel’s Palestinian citizens, however, have largely sat out the protests. Many say Israel’s democracy is tarnished by its military rule over their brethren in the West Bank and the discrimination they themselves face.

The turmoil has magnified longstanding and intractable differences over Israel’s character that have riven it since its establishment. The protesters say they are fighting for the very soul of the nation, saying the overhaul will remove Israel’s system of checks and balances and directly challenge its democratic ideals.

The government has labelled them anarchists out to topple a democratically elected leadership and says the plan will restore a balance between the judicial and executive branches and rein in what they see as an interventionist court with liberal sympathies.

At the center of the crisis is Netanyahu himself, Israel’s longest serving leader, and questions about the lengths he may be willing to go to maintain his grip on power, even as he battles charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate affairs. He denies wrongdoing.

On Monday afternoon, Netanyahu issued his first statement since he fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, urging against violence ahead of a planned counterprotest in Jerusalem organized by ultranationalist supporters of the judicial overhaul.

The counterprotest was also slated to take place outside parliament. “They won’t steal the election from us,” read a flyer for event, organized by Religious Zionist party.

“I call on all protesters in Jerusalem, right and left, to behave responsibly and not act violently,” Netanyahu wrote on Twitter.

The firing of Netanyahu’s defense minister at a time of heightened security threats in the West Bank and elsewhere, appeared to be a last straw for many, including apparently the Histadrut, the country’s largest trade union umbrella group, which had sat out the monthslong protests before the defense minister’s firing.

“Where are we leading our beloved Israel? To the abyss,” Arnon Bar-David, the group’s head, said in a rousing speech to applause. “Today we are stopping everyone’s descent toward the abyss.”

On Monday, as the embers of the highway bonfires were cleared, Israel’s ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, called again for an immediate halt to the overhaul.

“The entire nation is rapt with deep worry. Our security, economy, society — all are under threat,” he said. “Wake up now!”

Also Read | Israeli group asks court to punish PM Netanyahu over legal plan

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the crisis was driving Israel to the brink.

“We’ve never been closer to falling apart. Our national security is at risk, our economy is crumbling, our foreign relations are at their lowest point ever, we don’t know what to say to our children about their future in this country,” Lapid said.

The developments were being watched by the Biden administration, which is closely allied with Israel yet has been uneasy with Netanyahu and the far-right elements of his government. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the United States was “deeply concerned” by the developments.

Netanyahu had reportedly spent the night in consultations and was set to speak to the nation, but later delayed his speech.

The architect of the plan, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a popular party member, had long promised he would resign if the overhaul was suspended. But on Monday, he said he would respect the prime minister’s decision should he halt the legislation.

Still, Netanyahu’s hard-line allies pressed him to continue on. “We must not halt the reform in the judicial system, and we must not give in to anarchy,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said.

Netanyahu’s dismissal of Gallant appeared to signal that the prime minister and his allies would barrel ahead. Gallant had been the first senior member of the ruling Likud party to speak out against it, saying the deep divisions were threatening to weaken the military.

And Netanyahu’s government forged ahead with a centerpiece of the overhaul — a law that would give the governing coalition the final say over all judicial appointments. A parliamentary committee approved the legislation on Monday for a final vote, which could come this week.

The government also seeks to pass laws that would would grant the Knesset the authority to overturn Supreme Court decisions and limit judicial review of laws.

A separate law that would circumvent a Supreme Court ruling to allow a key coalition ally to serve as minister was delayed following a request from that party’s leader.

Netanyahu returned to power late last year after a protracted political crisis that sent Israelis to the polls five times in less than four years. The elections were all a referendum on Netanyahu’s fitness to serve while on trial for corruption.

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