Netanyahu vows to move ahead with controversial judicial reforms ‘this week’
"If Netanyahu goes for unilateral legislation and again takes same aggressive and steamrolling actions, he will harm democracy and security," Benny Gantz said in response.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his government would “make corrections” to the judicial system this week, referring to the controversial judicial reforms that have thrown Israel into the biggest societal crisis in its history.
Netanyahu lashed out at Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and National Unity party leader Benny Gantz, accusing them of “playing a game” after the two announced last week they would pause negotiations between the opposition and coalition over the judicial reforms.
The government, Netanyahu said, gave Lapid and Gantz “a month, and then another month, and another, and their representatives did not agree to even the most minimal understanding. Their intention was just to buy time, to waste time,” Netanyahu said, referring to the negotiations between coalition and opposition representatives at President Herzog’s residence.
“The vast majority of the public understands today that we need to make changes in the judicial system. Therefore we will meet this week and begin the practical steps, in a measured and responsible manner, but in accordance with the mandate we received to make corrections to the judicial system,” Netanyahu said, without elaborating on which aspects of the judicial reforms he intended to move ahead with.
Shortly after, Israeli media reported that the government is looking to implement one of the reforms concerning the “reasonableness clause”, which currently allows the High Court of Justice to reject ministerial appointments if they are deemed “unreasonable.”
The latest example of the use of this clause was the High Court’s dismissal earlier this year of Shas party leader Arieh Dery’s appointment as Health and Interior Minister, based on his multiple criminal convictions and promise to the court last year not to return to public life after a plea deal.
Netanyahu fired Dery following an order from the court, drawing anger from all coalition parties, including Netanyahu and Dery.
“If Netanyahu advances with his coup plan unilaterally, as he stated, he will find out that he is prime minister of less than half of the people of Israel, with less than half of the economy, less than half of the security (echelon) and less than half of the Knesset,” Lapid said in response to Netanyahu’s statement on Sunday.
Gantz stuck a similar tone, saying: “If there is unilateral legislation, there will be no talks. If Netanyahu goes for unilateral legislation and again takes the same aggressive and steamrolling actions, he will harm democracy, Israeli society, the economy and security. And after all this, he will also fail. He will not have a majority of the people, he will not have a majority in the Knesset.”
Following last week’s breakdown of negotiations between the government and coalition, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, seen as the ideological architect behind the judicial reforms, said he was “more determined than ever to do everything in order to pass the reform that is necessary to repair the justice system.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also called on Netanyahu to implement all the reforms “immediately and “in its entirety.”
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