On Monday night, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, tentatively approved a bill to limit some of the powers of the Israeli Supreme Court. The bill is part of a proposed judicial reform by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government that has sparked months of fierce protests. This is reported by international news agencies.
Under the bill, the Supreme Court will be given less room to overturn decisions by the government, ministers and elected officials by ruling that they are unreasonable. The bill passed on the first of three necessary votes by 64 votes to 56 after first reading in the Knesset. All members of the opposition voted against. It will now go back to a parliamentary committee and could still be amended before final adoption, possibly at the end of this month.
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Netanyahu, who leads a coalition of nationalist and religious parties, to reform the judicial system has sparked one of the largest protest movements in the country’s history – and concerns among Western allies about the state of Israeli democracy. Critics say judicial oversight of the government is essential to prevent corruption and abuse of power.
Video message
Proponents of the measure believe the amendment will promote effective governance by limiting judicial intervention. “This is not the end of democracy, it strengthens democracy,” Netanyahu said in a video message released Monday night as the bill was debated in the Knesset. “The rights of Israeli courts and citizens will not be harmed in any way,” he said. “The court will continue to review the legality of government decisions and appointments.”
However, his words did not reassure opponents. Demonstrators gathered in front of the Supreme Court building for a march to parliament. The opposition announced a day of national mobilization against the bill for Tuesday.
In late March, after heavy protests, Netanyahu paused the process to allow talks with opposition parties. But at the end of June, the two main opposition leaders, Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz, suspended their participation in those talks.