Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks on Thursday afternoon. The focus in advance is on the controversial judicial reform of Netanyahu’s government, which is met with violent protests. The press conference from 1.30 p.m. in the live ticker.
Netanyahu’s visit was accompanied by numerous protests
On the day of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Berlin, protests against his government’s controversial judicial reform began on Thursday. During the night, artists in Jerusalem drew a thick red line on the road leading to the Supreme Court. This should symbolize the link between an independent judiciary and freedom of expression. According to the police, five artists were arrested.
Numerous other protests were planned during the day, including in front of the German embassy in Tel Aviv. Netanyahu’s right-wing religious government wants to push through the controversial reform in a fast-track procedure by the end of the month, thereby deliberately weakening the independent judiciary. Critics see the separation of powers as a pillar of democracy in danger. It is eagerly awaited how Chancellor Olaf Scholz will deal with the topic at his meeting with Netanyahu on Thursday in Berlin.
Natanyahu will be received by Scholz in the Chancellery on Thursday afternoon, and in the afternoon there will be a conversation with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The return trip is planned for the evening.
