In a surprising turn of events, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that he has abandoned one of the most important parts of his controversially planned judicial overhaul amid months of protests against his controversial plans.
According to a BBC report, Netanyahu said in an interview that he would no longer give parliament the right to overturn the decisions of the country’s top court.
The Israeli PM said, “The idea of an override clause, where parliament, the Knesset, can overrule Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority…I rejected that.”
Protesters dissatisfied after Netanyahu’s latest action
However, this decision has apparently been unable to satisfy the protest leaders, who said that these changes have not gone far enough and that their demonstrations against the legal change will continue to be held.
One of the protesters told the BBC that Netanyahu’s latest action was a tactic to “fool onlookers” as Western countries shunned him because of the controversial plans. He further said, “We are fighting for the soul of our country and one interview of one person does not destroy everything else.”
Meanwhile, far-right ultranationalist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized Netanyahu’s decision as “a victory for violence and a defeat for Israel” and accused the PM of surrendering to civil unrest.
About Netanyahu’s controversial judicial overhaul plan
Netanyahu and his religious and ultra-nationalist allies announced the judicial change in January, just days after forming his government, the most right-wing government in Israel’s history.
The proposal plunges Israel into its worst domestic crisis in decades. Business leaders, top economists and former security chiefs have all come out against the plan, saying it is pushing the country towards dictatorship.
The plan would give Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, and his allies the final say in appointing the country’s judges. The government initially sought to pass laws that would give the Knesset, as Israel’s parliament is called, the power to overturn Supreme Court decisions and limit judicial review of laws.
Netanyahu and his allies say the plan would restore balance between the judicial and executive branches and rein in what they see as an interventionist court with liberal sympathies.
But critics say the laws would erode Israel’s system of checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of the ruling coalition. He also says that Netanyahu has a conflict of interest because of his corruption trial.
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