Netanyahu’s failure to grasp anger over Israel judicial overhaul exposes weaknesses

Israeli prime minister looks out of touch in his handling of response to the country’s latest political crisis

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, kept the country waiting all day, but in the end, when he finally announced a suspension to the government’s proposed judicial overhaul, it was a theatrical speech. The 73-year-old compared the unprecedented rift dividing Israel to the tale of Solomon, who commanded an infant be cut in half to decide which of two women was its real mother. Try as he might, however, in this story Netanyahu is not playing the role of the wise king.

Rather, Israel’s latest political crisis is once again completely his own doing. Bibi, as he is widely known, has for now bought some time by delaying implementing the controversial legislation weakening the power of the supreme court to the Knesset’s summer session, but the issue is far from resolved.

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Netanyahu halts judicial overhaul but fight is far from over

The biggest protest movement in Israeli history has achieved its goal but the country may soon face new elections

One word is heard more often than any other on the streets of Jerusalem these days: democratia, or democracy.

About 100,000 people sang, shouted and banged pots and pans outside the Knesset building on Monday afternoon, many carrying Israel’s blue and white flag. The demonstrators were tired; some had been up all night.

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Israeli PM Netanyahu says he is ‘not ready to divide the nation in pieces’ after mass protests over judicial overhaul – as it happened

Israeli prime minister confirms he will delay controversial measure for several weeks after tens of thousands protested

Many will be wondering today how this movement affects millions of Palestinians.

The fundamental issue at the core of the protests is preserving the balance of power in Israeli politics. However, for Palestinians, the judiciary is not seen as a balancing force but as part of the system that oppresses them. While they don’t want more powers handed to the far-right government, they won’t lament the weakening of the Israeli courts either.

[This] centre-left rebellion against what is seen as a coup by far-right extremists has a demographic fault line: Palestinian-Israelis, who make up one-fifth of the population, have been conspicuously absent from the protests to date, even though the new government is fervently anti-Arab and the community is likely to be hit hardest by the judicial reforms. The West Bank is already roiling after a year of increasing violence.

For most of those demonstrating, the fate of the judiciary and Israel’s control over Palestinians are separate issues – but for Palestinian citizens of Israel, and anti-occupation activists, the country’s democratic character has long been under question.

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Israel: Netanyahu announces delay to judicial overhaul plan

Prime minister defers controversial proposals to next parliamentary session after mass protests

Israel’s embattled prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has announced a delay to his far-right government’s proposals to overhaul the judiciary after 12 weeks of escalating political crisis.

Netanyahu said on Monday he would delay his flagship judicial changes to the next parliamentary session, saying he wanted to give time to seek a compromise over the contentious package with his political opponents.

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Israel’s president calls for halt to judicial overhaul after mass protests

Thousands took to the streets on Sunday after Benjamin Netanyahu sacked his defence minister for opposing the controversial changes

Israel’s president has urged the government to halt its bitterly contested judicial overhaul, a day after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu sacked his defence minister for opposing the move, sparking mass street protests.

“For the sake of the unity of the people of Israel, for the sake of responsibility, I call on you to stop the legislative process immediately,” Isaac Herzog said on Twitter.

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Israel: mass protests after sacking of minister who opposed judicial overhaul

Dismissal of Yoav Gallant, a senior figure in the ruling Likud party, brings tens of thousands on to streets of Tel Aviv

Tens of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets to protest after Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defence minister over his opposition to a planned judicial overhaul.

Yoav Gallant had called on the prime minister to scrap the proposals which have divided the country, led to mass protests and sparked growing discontent within the military.

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Israel defence minister urges pause in judicial overhaul as thousands rally in Tel Aviv

Netanyahu’s changes are causing a ‘growing social rift’ that present an immediate security threat, says Likud party member Yoav Galant

Tens of thousands of Israelis have rallied in Tel Aviv against a controversial judicial overhaul, as defence minister Yoav Galant broke ranks to call for a pause in the process.

The latest demonstration to hit Israel’s commercial hub came days after the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed to press on with the changes despite mounting international alarm.

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Rishi Sunak stresses ‘close partnership’ with Israel amid protests at Benjamin Netanyahu visit – live

UK prime minister meets Israeli PM at Downing Street as Oxfam and Amnesty condemn visit amid protests in Whitehall

Downing Street described Israel as a “vital international partner” after Rishi Sunak’s meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu this morning. At the morning lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson said:

Israel is a vital international partner for the United Kingdom and the prime minister was visiting London, and this was an important opportunity to talk about issues that matter to both countries, whether that’s the threat of Iran, Russia, new trade and investment … as well as peace and stability in the Middle East.

The prime minister expressed his solidarity with Israel in the face of terrorist attacks in recent months. The UK would always stand with Israel and its ability to defend itself. At the same time, the PM outlined international concern at growing tensions in the West Bank and the risk of undermining efforts towards the two state solution. He encouraged all efforts to de-escalate, particularly ahead of the upcoming religious holidays.

The prime minister stressed the importance of upholding the democratic values that underpin our relationship, including in the proposed judicial reforms in Israel.

The prime minister welcomed Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Downing Street today for talks on strengthening the close partnership between the United Kingdom and Israel.

The two leaders welcomed the signing of the UK-Israel 2030 Roadmap this week, which will drive our bilateral relationship forward and commit £20m in funding for joint science and technology projects over the next decade.

We would not accept any Scottish government simply vetoing parts of the Bute House agreement.

Those policies are in the Bute House agreement, that’s what we’re intended to deliver.

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Scores arrested on Israeli day of protest as parliament passes judicial changes

At least 75 people held across country on ‘day of disruption’ as Knesset approves law designed to protect Netanyahu

Israel’s two-month-old protest movement took to the streets for a “day of disruption” as the parliament passed the first part of the hardline government’s controversial judicial changes into law.

The legislation, designed to protect the position of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was approved early on Thursday, after a heated all-night debate, by 61 votes to 47 – the minimum majority required.

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Israeli president warns of civil war as Netanyahu rejects judicial compromise

Herzog offers alternative to far-right coalition’s changes but PM says it perpetuates current situation

What are the Israeli protests about and what happens next?

A compromise proposal presented by Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, on controversial legislative changes has been rejected by the governing coalition, putting a swift end to hopes that the country’s political crisis can be immediately resolved.

In a televised address to the nation on Wednesday night, Herzog revealed what he called “the people’s directive” aimed at ending the 10-week standoff between Israel’s new hardline government and the large protest movement opposed to the plans, which would give politicians much greater control of the judiciary.

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Pentagon chief ‘disturbed’ by West Bank violence and warns against inflammatory rhetoric

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit was disrupted by protests against prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed judicial changes

The Pentagon chief, Lloyd Austin, has expressed his concerns over rising levels of violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and warned against acts that could trigger more insecurity.

The US defence secretary’s talks in Israel came as Israeli police killed three suspected Palestinian militants in the West Bank and a Hamas gunman shot and wounded three people on a Tel Aviv street.

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March of the unicorns: Israel’s tech sector rebels against Netanyahu ‘power grab’

Proposals to neuter the country’s judiciary have spooked entrepreneurs who had seemed immune to the political weather

About 20 years ago, the skyline of Tel Aviv began to change. The city’s collection of elegant white Bauhaus buildings has been joined by tower after tower, each one a salute to Israel’s rapid transformation into one of the world’s most important advanced technology centres.

It is no accident that the rise of the “startup nation” has dovetailed with the career of its longest serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Bibi, as he is widely known, is a firm believer in the free market and has championed Israel’s vaunted hi-tech sector as his own personal achievement. At 15.3% of GDP, it is now Israel’s main engine of economic growth, employing 10% of the country’s salaried workforce, and generating about a quarter of income taxes.

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Israeli military reservists refuse to train in protest at far-right government

Growing numbers including from elite air force squadron say they are unwilling to serve ‘dictatorial regime’

Growing numbers of Israel’s military reservists, including members of its most important air force squadron, are refusing to attend for service, an unprecedented step that comes as part of the protest movement against the country’s new far-right government.

In an announcement on Sunday, all but three of the 40 reservist pilots in Israel’s elite 69 Squadron said they would not take part in a training exercise later this week, and instead participate in widespread public protests, claiming they were not prepared to serve a “dictatorial regime”.

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Simon Schama urges UK Jews to condemn Israel’s ‘horrifying’ shift to far right

Historian and TV presenter is among those to speak out as protest grows over settler violence against Palestinians

British Jews must speak out over the “complete disintegration of the political and social compact” that underpins the state of Israel, the historian Simon Schama has said.

His call comes amid mounting disquiet among Jews in the UK and the US at the threats to Israeli democracy, violent attacks on Palestinians and a police crackdown on Israeli protesters.

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Israeli police arrest five over settler rampage in West Bank

Officers says they expect to make more arrests over violence described by Israeli general as ‘pogrom’

Israeli police have arrested five suspects over a Jewish settler rampage in the occupied West Bank earlier this week that an Israeli general described as a “pogrom” and which followed a deadly Palestinian gun attack.

Shops in the Palestinian village of Huwara remained closed on army orders on Wednesday amid a heavy Israeli military presence, residents said. A Palestinian gunman killed two Israeli brothers there on Sunday, prompting assaults by settlers on houses and cars during which one Palestinian was killed.

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Former US ambassador accuses Israel of ‘creeping annexation’ of the West Bank

Daniel Kurtzer says legalised settlements are ‘a significant violation of a commitment the Israeli government made to the American government’

A former US ambassador to Israel has accused Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government of breaking a written agreement with Washington by legalising a group of hardline nationalist and religious settlements in the West Bank.

Daniel Kurtzer, who served in Tel Aviv during the George W Bush administration, also warned that some ministers in Netanyahu’s new coalition are not interested in a peace agreement with the Palestinians. He called on the Biden administration to be more proactive in stopping Israel’s “creeping annexation” of the West Bank.

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Benjamin Netanyahu accuses protesters of ‘trampling democracy’

PM vows to press ahead with legislation to restrict judicial powers as upwards of 100,000 protesters take to streets

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has accused protesters of “trampling democracy”, vowing that his far-right coalition will move ahead with controversial legislation to restrict the power of the judiciary.

Upwards of 100,000 people gathered outside the Knesset in Jerusalem on Monday in protest against an initial plenum vote on bills that would give politicians control over appointments to Israel’s supreme court, and limit its ability to overturn laws. Protesters blocked major roads across the country, and prevented some politicians from leaving their homes.

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Protests and strikes in Israel as plans for judicial overhaul move forward

Tens of thousands gather for rally and workers in several sectors strike over rightwing government’s proposals

Israel’s new hard-right government has begun introducing sweeping legislation aimed at overhauling the judicial system, prompting the largest public demonstrations against the proposed measures to date.

In a heated meeting in which several opposition politicians had to be forcibly removed, the Knesset’s constitution, law and justice committee voted on two bills on Monday: one will give politicians greater control over the appointment of supreme court justices, and the other will allow a simple majority in the Knesset to override almost all supreme court rulings.

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Israel protests: thousands rally for fifth week against government’s legal reforms

Protests were held in 20 cities across Israel, with demonstrators also decrying proposed settlement expansion in the West Bank

Thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv for the fifth consecutive week to demonstrate against controversial legal reforms touted by Benjamin Netanyahu’s rightwing government.

Crowds carrying blue and white Israeli flags filled the city’s central Kaplan Street on Saturday, with signs labelling the new government a “threat to world peace”.

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Netanyahu told he must not involve himself in judiciary overhaul

Israel’s attorney general said to PM it would amount to a conflict of interest over his corruption trial, according to letter

Israel’s attorney general has told Benjamin Netanyahu that he must not be involved in an overhaul to the country’s judicial system proposed by his government because it would amount to a conflict of interest over the prime minister’s corruption trial, according to a letter made public Thursday.

Netanyahu’s new far-right government has made changing the legal system a centrepiece of its legislative agenda and despite mounting public criticism, has charged ahead with steps to weaken the supreme court and grant politicians less judicial oversight in their policymaking.

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