Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the start of the weekly cabinet meeting this morning that he intended to start moving ahead with legislation on the government’s planned judicial overhaul this week.
Referring to the opposition’s withdrawal from talks on reforming the judicial system last week, Netanyahu said, "What was demonstrated last week was that there was basically a false facade of supposed dialogue, but we gave a month, and another month, and then three months. The opposition representatives would not agree to the most minimal understanding. Their intention was to play for time, to water down any amendment, when a large majority of the public now recognizes that amendments must be made to the legal system. We will therefore convene this week and start on practical steps. We will carry them out in a measured, responsible fashion, but in accordance with the mandate we received."
Netanyahu’s announcement comes after Leader of the Opposition Yair Lapid announced that opposition representatives would cease to attend talks aimed at finding a compromise on reform of the legal system, under the auspices of President Isaac Herzog. This followed the failure of moves in the Knesset to elect representatives to fill its two slots on the Judicial Selection Committee. An opposition representative was elected, but not a representative of the ruling coalition. Netanyahu had given an undertaking that the election would take place by June 14, to enable the committee to convene in its current format and make judicial appointments. The absence of a second Knesset representative means that the committee cannot convene. Netanyahu is accused by the opposition of deliberately sabotaging the vote and thus breaching his undertaking. Changes in the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee to give the government greater control over judicial appointments are the most contentious part of the judicial overhaul legislation being led by Minister of Justice Yariv Levin.
"There is an opposition representative for the Judicial Selection Committee, but no Judicial Selection Committee," Lapid said last week. "Netanyahu prevented it from being formed, and put an end to the pretense that he wants dialogue. The Committee has not been formed; the threat to democracy has not been removed. Netanyahu knew precisely what the consequences would be. They were made clear to him by the President and by us. Without a Judicial Appointments Committee, we will not come to the President’s residence. No committee, no talks."
The heads of the coalition parties are due to meet after the cabinet meeting to discuss the steps to be taken to advance the judicial reform.
Lapid said today after the prime minister’s announcement, "Netanyahu’s announcement that he intends to advance the regime change unilaterally will be a critical blow to the economy, endanger security, and tear Israel to pieces. Instead of firing Yariv Levin, Netanyahu is firing the State of Israel."
The leadership of the protest against the changes to the legal system said in a statement: "The threats by Netanyahu against the legal system will be met by an appropriate Zionist response: demonstrations and disruptions that will lead to the failure of any attempt to harm the legal system and Israeli democracy."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 18, 2023.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2023.