2023-07-24 13:19:34
Binyamin Netanyahu attends a session at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem on July 24, 2023, amid a months-long wave of protests against the government’s planned judicial overhaul. RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP
Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu arrived in Parliament on July 24, his office told Agence France-Presse, before the final vote on a key clause in a controversial judicial reform bill. Television channels showed him entering the seat of Parliament, hours after his release from hospital, where he underwent surgery to fit a pacemaker.
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The voting session began in Parliament at the start of the afternoon, after a debate of more than twenty-four hours on the reform measure aimed at canceling the possibility for the Israeli courts to rule on the “reasonableness” government decisions. If passed, this would lead to the promulgation of one of the main measures of the judicial reform project carried by the ultra-conservative coalition, a reform denounced by its opponents as an attack on democracy.
Israeli police disperse demonstrators blocking the road leading to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, during a demonstration against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government plans to reform the judicial system, in Jerusalem, Monday, July 24, 2023. MAHMOUD ILLEAN / AP
Demonstrators lined up outside Israel’s parliament to protest the vote as President Isaac Herzog tried to secure a last-minute compromise on the text. Police used a water cannon to disperse protesters opposed to Binyamin Netanyahu’s nationalist-religious coalition’s reform bill, which has plunged Israel into one of the worst crises in decades.
“We are in the midst of a national emergencysaid the president, Isaac Herzog, in a press release. We are working around the clock, in every way possible, to find a solution. There is a possible basis for understanding, but there are still gaps that require the parties to show responsibility. »
Banks and businesses have joined the protests. The crisis has spilled over to the army, where thousands of volunteer reservists have warned they will suspend their service if the government goes through with its plans. At least six people were arrested outside the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
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Discussions followed “very closely” internationally
On Sunday, US President Joe Biden urged Israel not to rush judicial reform, increasingly “source of division”. The head of German diplomacy also stressed, during the weekend, during an interview with her Israeli counterpart, the importance of the independence of justice.
“We are convinced that strong institutions, the independence of the judiciary and clear rules of separation of powers are important for any democracy, and this naturally also applies to Israel”German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Andrea Sasse said at a regular press conference.
Minister Annalena Baerbock also had “clearly remembered” this German position to his Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, during a telephone conversation during the same weekend. Germany follows “very closely the discussions currently taking place in the Knesset”also pointed out Andrea Sasse.
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