(Jerusalem) Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sacked his defense minister on Sunday, who called the day before for a one-month pause in the process of controversial judicial reform wanted by the government.
After the dismissal announcement, thousands of protesters converged, police say, on Kaplan Street in central Tel Aviv, the epicenter of protests that have taken place every week since the government presented the reform bill in January. which divides the country.
The reform of the government, one of the most right-wing in the history of Israel, which aims to increase the power of elected officials over that of magistrates, jeopardizes, according to its detractors, the democratic character of the State of Israel.
Mr. Netanyahu and his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies believe it is necessary to restore a balanced balance of power between elected officials and the Supreme Court, which they consider politicized.
“Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has decided to remove Defense Minister Yoav Gallant from office,” his office said in a brief statement.
In a speech on Saturday evening, Mr. Gallant, although from the same right-wing party as Mr. Netanyahu, the Likud, said he feared that continued divisions among the population on this issue would create a “real threat to the security of ‘Israel’.
Hours after the dismissal was announced, Israel’s consul general in New York resigned, posting a letter on Twitter.
“The political situation in Israel has reached a critical point and I feel a deep sense of responsibility and a moral obligation to stand up for what is right and to fight for the democratic values that I hold dear,” said Asaf Zamir, in office since 18 months, calling the dismissal of the minister a “dangerous decision” which “convinced him that (he) could no longer continue to represent this government”.
In Tel Aviv, protesters set fire to tires on Sunday night, police said in a statement.
An AFP journalist noted that demonstrators had burned a sofa and, in other places, wood. According to her, a huge crowd took to the streets of Tel Aviv and demonstrators blocked the main highway through the coastal metropolis, the Ayalon.
Armed with blue and white flags, demonstrators chanted slogans like “Bibi get out! “, taking up the nickname of Benyamin Netanyahu.
Other spontaneous rallies took place in front of the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem as well as in other cities of the country such as Haifa (north) and Beer Sheva (south), according to local media.
“Concerns”
“Israel’s security has always been and always will be my life’s mission,” Yoav Gallant tweeted.
The day before, he called for a “stopping of the legislative process” for a month, before a crucial week which should be marked by other legislative provisions and by new mass demonstrations, at the call of the organizers of the movement of protest that called for the country to be “paralyzed”.
“I am attached to the values of Likud […] but major changes at the national level must be made through consultation and dialogue,” the minister said on Saturday, calling at the same time for an end to the demonstrations.
“Netanyahu can fire Gallant, but he can’t fire reality and he can’t fire the people of Israel who oppose the madness of the coalition,” tweeted opposition leader, centrist Yair Lapid.
“Israel’s prime minister is a threat to Israel’s security,” he added.
He had welcomed Mr. Gallant’s remarks on Saturday evening, calling them “not courageous […] for Israel’s security.
Two Likud lawmakers also tweeted their support for Gallant on Saturday, raising questions about whether the government could count on a majority if it proceeds to a vote.
Israel’s main allies, including Washington, have questioned plans to give more power to politicians and reduce the role of the Supreme Court.
“Outrage”
Israeli MPs are expected to vote in the coming days on one of the central elements of the reform, at the heart of the concerns of its detractors, foreseeing the change in the process of appointing judges.
In a speech broadcast on television Thursday evening, Mr. Netanyahu, who had hitherto remained in the background on this issue, pledged to “end the division among the people”, while stressing his determination to do advance the reform.
The next day, he was called to order by the courts, which deemed his public intervention “illegal”, given his ongoing trials for corruption.
And on Sunday the Supreme Court gave the prime minister a week to respond to an NGO petition asking that he be punished for “contempt of court” after the speech.
According to the Movement for Quality Government in Israel petition, seen by AFP, Mr. Netanyahu, indicted in a series of corruption cases, violated an agreement reached with the courts according to which an indicted prime minister did not not allowed to act in an area that could place him in a conflict of interest, according to a 2020 Supreme Court ruling.