"Explainer - What are the #Israeli #protests about and what happens next? - Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets over plans to overhaul the judicial system
- Tens of thousands of people protested across Israel on Sunday night in a spontaneous show of anger at the decision by the prime minister, Benjamin #Netanyahu, to fire his defence minister after the minister called for a pause to the government’s plans to overhaul the judiciary.

The plans have ignited months of demonstrations and been questioned by Israel’s top allies including the US.

Among a raft of far-reaching proposals from Netanyahu’s government are plans to allow a simple majority of 61 in the 120-seat #Knesset to override almost any supreme court rulings, and to allow politicians to appoint most of the justices to the bench.

The changes are spearheaded not by the prime minister but by his #Likud colleague Yariv Levin, the justice minister, and the Religious Zionist MK Simcha Rothman, who chairs the Knesset’s law and justice committee.

Both men have a longstanding hatred of Israel’s supreme court, which they see as too powerful and as biased against the settler movement, Israel’s ultra-religious community, and the Mizrahi population, Jewish people of Middle Eastern origin. In particular, many on the Israeli right have never forgiven the court for decisions related to Israel’s unilateral withdraw from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

It is not lost on anyone that the measures could help Netanyahu evade prosecution in his corruption trial. He denies all charges."

#Israel #Palestine #Justice #IsraelSupremeCourt #Protest

In the continuing uproar over his government's move to limit the powers of Israel's supreme court, PM Benjamin Netanyahu has fired his defense minister and apparently taken direct control of the police and military. Big protests have taken place in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and there are reports that the are happening elsewhere. The constitutional crisis appears to be worsening very quickly.

#Israel #Netanyahu #IsraelSupremeCourt #protests #fascism

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/27/mass-protests-in-israel-after-netanyahu-fires-defence-minister