Israel: Netanyahu puts on “pause” the highly contested justice reform

Faced with a challenge that does not weaken, the Israeli Prime Minister announced on March 27, a “pause” in the process of adopting the controversial justice reform currently under consideration in Parliament.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on March 27 a “pause” in the process of adopting the justice reform under consideration in Parliament, and contested in the street for nearly three months.

In an address to the nation after political consultations with some partners in the ruling coalition, the Israeli Prime Minister announced that the final adoption of the various reform bills was postponed until the next parliamentary session to open after the Jewish Passover holidays (April 5 to 13), thus yielding in part to the demands of the opponents.

Adoption postponed to April

A crowd, estimated at 80,000 demonstrators according to Israeli media, gathered in the afternoon of March 27 around the Parliament in Jerusalem to protest against the reform.

A counter-demonstration, the first of its kind, was held not far from there, in front of the Supreme Court, bringing together several thousand people.

Other protests against the reform took place in Tel Aviv and Haifa, in northern Israel. The project proposed by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, one of the most right-wing in the history of Israel, aims to increase the power of elected officials over that of judges. Critics of this text believe that the reform risks jeopardizing the democratic principles in use in Israel.

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