CCTV news client In view of the fact that the Israeli government’s forced promotion of judicial reform has caused huge controversy in the country, on March 28 local time, President Isaac Herzog presided over a meeting, urging the two factions supporting and opposing the reform to reach a compromise. The tense situation in the past few days has temporarily shown a tendency to ease, but the prospects are still unclear, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is at the cusp of the crisis, is still on the verge of riding a tiger.
The ruling coalition led by Netanyahu, the “Have a Future” party led by former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, and the National Unity Party led by former Defense Minister Benny Gantz all sent representatives to attend the meeting. The statement issued by the Israeli Presidential Palace on the evening of the 28th said that the meeting was held in a “good atmosphere” and lasted about 90 minutes. The meeting will continue the next day.
According to the “Times of Israel” report, the “Have a Future” party delegation issued a statement suggesting that the parliament delete the current legislative process related to judicial reform in order to “start negotiations on a new page.” The party delegation also called for the formation of a widely recognized Israeli constitution that reflects the consensus and will of all Israeli citizens.
Defense Minister Yoyaf Galante called for the suspension of judicial reform on the 25th, and was dismissed by Netanyahu the next day, triggering large-scale demonstrations in many places. The protests against the government’s insistence on promoting judicial reform have reached a climax in the past three months . In the face of intensified protests and opposition, Netanyahu announced on the 27th that he would postpone the second and third readings of parliamentary reform-related bills to mid-to-late April in order to gain time to reach a broad consensus.
At the same time, Netanyahu emphasized the need to reform the current judicial system to restore the “lost balance” between government departments and “preserve and even strengthen individual rights.”
Herzog subsequently issued a statement acknowledging that Netanyahu temporarily suspended the legislative process related to judicial reform. He called on all parties to engage in honest, serious and responsible dialogue to quickly calm tensions.
Netanyahu led the Likud Group to win the parliamentary elections held in November last year, and then successfully formed a coalition government composed of six right-wing or extreme right-wing parties including the Likud Group. Since the beginning of this year, the Netanyahu government has been committed to promoting judicial reforms, including allowing parliament to veto Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority and giving the government greater power in appointing judges, which has caused considerable controversy.
The leader of the far-right “Jewish Power Party”, Itamar Ben-Gavier, is considered a key figure in helping Netanyahu win the election and became the Minister of National Security. Although he had threatened to withdraw from the ruling coalition if the judicial reform was stopped, he still expressed his support after Netanyahu announced on the 27th that he would postpone the judicial reform.
Public opinion believes that this is because Ben Gevir’s appeal has been promised by Netanyahu-the government will approve the formation of the National Guard under the control of the Ministry of National Security.
According to the “Jerusalem Post” report, the National Guard is currently under the border police force, with about 900 regular soldiers and thousands of reservists and volunteers. A spokesman for the Ministry of National Security said on the evening of the 28th that in the future the National Guard will be committed to combating “criminal organizations” in areas where Jews and Arabs live together.
Former police chief Moshe Karadi pointed out that Ben Gevier’s attempt to form a “private militia” for his personal political purposes is undermining Israeli democracy and endangering national security.
“Jerusalem Post” quoted a statement from the Israel Civil Rights Association, saying that Ben Gevier’s inclusion of the National Guard constituted a violation of the rights of Arabs and added new dangers to the current political turmoil. “As if simply fighting the justice system wasn’t enough, now we’re seeing an orderly wrestling of authority from the police and into the National Guard in the hands of Ben Gewell.”
(Original title: Judicial Reform Controversy Dialogue for the First Time, Netanyahu Still Riding a Tiger)