Netanyahu pledges to continue judicial overhaul despite months of nationwide protests

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to halt the judicial reforms promoted by his government and promised to get involved in it despite an order by the attorney general barring him from doing so. 

The attorney general has prohibited Netanyahu from being involved in the reforms, arguing that his corruption trial puts him in to a conflict of interest. On Wednesday, the Knesset passed a law that will prevent the attorney general from declaring a sitting prime minister unfit for office.

In a highly anticipated speech to the nation on Thursday night, Netanyahu said that until now “my hands were bound, now I am getting involved” in the reforms.

Despite mass protests and an unprecedented level of criticism from all sectors of Israeli society in recent months, Netanyahu refused to halt the legislative blitz, repeating his argument that the judicial system in Israel is long overdue for a change, and that the government’s reforms will strengthen the nation’s democracy.

What endangers democracy is “an all-powerful High Court that in practice runs the country,” Netanyahu said, accusing the court of “behaving like a closed club.”

Netanyahu also said he hoped to reach a broad agreement on the judicial reforms, which Opposition Leader Yair Lapid called “a bluff.”

Prior to his speech, Israeli media reported that Defence Minister Yoav Gallant would hold press conference on Thursday to call for a halt of the reforms.

But after he was summoned to Netanyhau’s office in Jerusalem, Gallant issued a statement saying: “At the prime minister’s request and in light of his planned statement this evening, the minister of defence is delaying his statement at this stage.”

Before his meeting with Netanyahu, Gallant was viciously attacked by Jewish Power party which accused him of being “responsible for the lack of response in Gaza, for the restrained policy towards terrorism, for administrative arrests of right-wing activists.

This is a minister who “entered the government with the votes of the right-wing voters, but in practice runs a different policy,” the party added.

Gallant’s fellow Likud lawmakers also attacked him. “All Likud MKs who are planning to stop the legislation are invited to resign. Preferably today, even better right now,” Public Diplomacy Minister Galit Distel Atbaryan said.

Fellow Likud MK, Boaz Bismuth, said that no lawmakers has the mandate to “operate against the decision of the party.”