The Knesset Judiciary Committee approved part of the controversial reform on Monday, despite opposition. A total of three readings in Parliament are required for a change in law. During the debate in the commission there were tumultuous scenes. Opposition members protested loudly, jumping over tables and chanting “Shame, Shame, Shame!” several times. A short time later, they were dragged out of the room by briefcases. A deputy from the opposition Israel Beitenu party broke down in tears over the situation.
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Chuldai caused an uproar with scathing statements. “Dictatorships only become democracies again through bloodshed,” he said at a protest march. “This is the history of the world. Countries turned into dictatorships with the help of democracy and unfortunately we have seen terrible things, including those we have suffered as a people.”
For weeks, tens of thousands of Israelis have demonstrated against the Benjamin Netanyahu government’s plan to deliberately weaken the Supreme Court. The aim of the reform is to give Parliament the power to overrule Supreme Court decisions by a simple majority. Politicians should also have more influence in the appointment of judges. Critics see this as a threat to the democratic separation of powers. As there is no written constitution in Israel, the Supreme Court is of particular importance in upholding the rule of law and human rights. The right-wing religious government, however, argues that the court currently wields too much political influence.
In view of the extreme tensions between the two camps, President Izchak Herzog warned of a constitutional and social breakdown in Israel in a speech on Sunday night: “We are only moments away from a confrontation, perhaps even a violent one.” He called for dialogue between the two sides and a compromise.
Meanwhile, a 22-year-old Palestinian was killed during an Israeli military operation in Nablus in the West Bank on Monday. According to the army, two suspected assassins were caught in the attack. They are suspected of shooting dead an Israeli soldier in the West Bank in October.
Following a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Air Force bombed an underground compound on Monday night. According to the Army, this house housed raw material for the production of rockets for the Islamic organization Hamas, which commands the Gaza Strip. Four more rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel on Monday night.
The security situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories has been extremely tense for weeks. Nine Israelis and one Ukrainian have been killed in Palestinian attacks since the beginning of the year. The Israeli army’s incursions and its own attacks have killed 47 Palestinians this year alone.
Israel’s security cabinet decided on Sunday night to legalize nine unauthorized settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank in response to the attacks. Egypt and Jordan condemned the decision. Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. In total, over 600,000 Israeli settlers live there today. Palestinians claim the territories for an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel distinguishes between settlements created with government approval and “wild settlements”, which must be retrospectively legalized by law. From an international perspective, however, all settlements are illegal.