Former Defense Minister Gallant surprisingly called on his own government to stop the reform and to engage in dialogue with critics on Saturday evening. So far he was the first and only one within the government – Gallant, like Netanyahu, belongs to the Likud party – to have dared to come out of cover. Gallant had warned that national security could be seriously damaged. He pointed out, for example, that numerous reservists did not show up for duty in protest against the reform.
“The growing division seeps into military and defense institutions. This is a clear, imminent and real threat to Israel’s security,” Gallant said on television. He had previously expressed concern about this. Gallant said he supports judicial reform. But this requires a broad consensus.
Now he has been fired, as the Prime Minister’s Office announced on Sunday. Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gwir, who belongs to Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partner Ozma Jehudit, had previously called on the head of government to dismiss Gallant. He said he “put himself outside the right-wing camp.”
Voting possible on Monday
The focus of the planned conversion is a regulation that will allow Parliament to overrule decisions of the highest court with a simple majority. It is also about the procedure for selecting judges. The government wants to increase its influence and limit the powers of the Supreme Court. She justified this with the accusation that judges had interfered in politics.
The vote on the law could take place as early as Monday. It is still unclear how the government will vote. The coalition only has a majority of four seats in parliament. Critics accuse the government of wanting to restrict the independence of the judiciary. According to her, democracy is at stake.
Deposition of the prime minister made more difficult
On Thursday, the parliament in Jerusalem also passed a law that will make it much more difficult in future to declare a prime minister incapacitated. This was the first legislative change under the plans. The law change that was passed is particularly controversial because it is considered to be personally tailored to Prime Minister Netanyahu and his needs. A corruption process has been going on against the 73-year-old for a long time.
In the future, a prime minister could only be removed from office for mental or other health reasons. This is intended to prevent the supreme court or the public prosecutor’s office from influencing matters. In the last reading, 61 of the 120 MEPs voted in favour. 47 MPs were against, the others were absent or abstained. If the law is not stopped by the judiciary, a three-quarters majority would be required for impeachment in the future.
“Week of Disruption” announced
The planned judicial reform has triggered the worst domestic political crisis in years in Israel. Over the weekend, hundreds of thousands demonstrated again in several cities against the project.
Even after Gallant’s dismissal, new protests quickly erupted. According to television reports, tens of thousands spontaneously gathered in Tel Aviv to protest the decision. They blocked the central road to Jerusalem. There, demonstrators broke through a roadblock next to the prime minister’s residence. However, it was unclear whether the 73-year-old was in the house.
The organizers of the mass protests announced on Saturday that the demonstrations would continue until the reform plans were completely abandoned. They announced a “week of disruption” with numerous protests.
