Benjamin Netanyahu hits back at criticism of Israeli judicial overhaul

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Benjamin Netanyahu has hit back at criticism of his government’s bitterly contested plans to overhaul Israel’s judiciary, insisting that a bill expected to be passed next week does not pose a threat to the country’s democracy.

The Israeli prime minister’s intervention via a prime-time speech on national television followed another day of demonstrations against his reforms. These have sparked one of the biggest wave of protests in Israel’s history, fierce criticism from military reservists and the country’s crucial tech sector, and mounting expressions of concern from US President Joe Biden.

In his address on Thursday night, Netanyahu veered between blaming his political opponents for the impasse and expressing hope that some form of cross-party agreement could yet be reached on the first part of the overhaul, which is due to face a final parliamentary vote on Monday.

“Even in these moments . . . efforts are being made to reach agreement on the [bill]. I very much hope that these efforts will succeed,” he said. “But if they do not, the door of the coalition will always be open, to you, citizens of Israel, and to the opposition.”

His comments were rejected by his political opponents. Yair Lapid, head of the biggest opposition party Yesh Atid, said the bill being advanced by the government amounted to “the deletion of one of the foundations of our democratic system” and he urged Netanyahu to stop.

“What we saw tonight is a prime minister who is tearing the country apart instead of uniting it,” he wrote on Twitter. “Stop the legislation because we are one nation and must remain one nation.”

The bill would limit the ability of Israel’s top court to use a test of reasonableness to strike down decisions by the government — on issues such as public appointments.

The measure is part of a broader series of proposals put forward by Netanyahu’s government — widely regarded as the most rightwing in Israeli history — with the aim of reining in the judiciary.

Government officials say the changes are needed because Israel’s top court has taken on powers it was never formally granted, and has used them to push a partisan, leftwing agenda.

But critics see the overhaul as a nakedly political attempt to undermine the few checks and balances on Israeli administrations, arguing that it would pave the way for corruption and the evisceration of minority rights.

Since the government announced its plans in January, hundreds of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets each week, with protest organisers vowing further demonstrations in the run-up to Monday’s vote.

Reservists — who play a crucial role in Israel’s military — have been a critical part of the opposition to the overhaul, and in recent days hundreds have threatened to stop reporting for voluntary duty if it is passed.

Netanyahu hit out at these threats in his speech, saying that “refusal to serve endangers the security of us all”.

“When elements in the military try — with threats — to dictate policy to the government, this is unacceptable in any democracy,” he said. “If they succeed in dictating their threats, this is the end of genuine democracy.”

However, earlier on Thursday, several former senior security officials spoke out against Netanyahu’s plans. Tamir Pardo, former head of the Mossad intelligence agency, said if the reasonableness bill passed, it would constitute “the end of democracy”.

“We will be similar to Iran and Hungary,” he said. “Ostensibly a democracy, in practice a dictatorship.”