Netanyahu delays UK trip; police use water cannons to break up Israeli protests
Israeli protests against a controversial judicial overhaul continued, with police using water cannons against demonstrators blocking roads in Tel Aviv and Haifa on Thursday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to address the media on Thursday evening.
Netanyahu was scheduled to fly to Britain on Thursday night, but the flight was postponed to Friday morning.
Israelis protesting judicial reform scuffle with police in Tel Aviv on March 23, 2023. Photo by Gideon Markowicz/TPS
Demonstrations took place in numerous cities as the government pressed forward with legislation. On Thursday morning, the Knesset passed the Impeachment Law which restricts the ability for a sitting prime minister to be removed from office. Critics say the law was tailored to protect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid speculation that the Supreme Court or the Attorney General may order Netanyahu to recuse himself from office during his corruption trial due to conflicts of interest.
Netanyahu is charged with fraud, bribery and breach of trust stemming from three separate investigations.
Legislation advancing through the Knesset would primarily alter the way judges are appointed and removed, give the Knesset the ability to override certain High Court rulings, restrict the ability of judges to apply standards of “reasonableness,” and change the way legal advisors are appointed to government ministries.
Supporters of the legal overhaul say they want to end years of judicial overreach while opponents describe the proposals as anti-democratic.
Police said 75 people were arrested around the country, including 52 who blocked Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway, a key traffic artery.
At Airport City, next to Ben-Gurion Airport, a woman was arrested for hitting Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter in the head with a flag as he was leaving. Footage of the incident circulated on social media.
Other protests were held outside the homes of various members of the governing coalition, as well as Aryeh Deri, who was fired as Interior Minister in January.
The Supreme Court disqualified Deri from serving in the government over the terms of a plea agreement made in January 2022. Deri was fined and given a suspended prison sentence after being indicted for tax offenses. The governing coalition has vowed to pass legislation to allow Deri’s return to the government.
Social divisions continued to encroach on the Israeli Defense Forces, where national service traditionally stays above politics.
Protesters will be holding a demonstration in the Orthodox city of Bnei Brak on Thursday evening. The Orthodox parties support the judicial overhaul and are also pushing legislation to exempt religious students from compulsory military service.
Amid fears of violence in Bnei Brak, a statement issued by President Isaac Herzog “implored and implores everyone to show responsibility and avoid any aspect that may incite gratuitous hatred and deepen the severe rift we are in.”
Meanwhile, three widows whose husbands were killed in combat asked Defense Minister Yoav Gallant not to send them an annual card on Memorial Day.
But 200 veterans of one reconnaissance unit also sent a letter to Gallant reaffirming their “unconditional” commitment to reserve duty.
An effort to suspend protests on the upcoming Memorial Day ended up casting a shadow over Independence Day, which is held the next day. When asked to support an agreement for a protest-free Memorial Day so Israelis could visit cemeteries, Transportation Miri Regev said she would only do so if opposition leader Yair Lapid signed a joint statement also calling for protests to be suspended on Independence Day as well.
Regev is also in charge of this year’s Independence Day celebrations. Lapid rejected Regev’s call.
Memorial Day begins at sundown on April 24.
