Netanyahu Vs Yoav Gallant: Amid the contentious judicial overhaul plan of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he retracted his decision to fire his defence minister over criticism of the government's contentious plan to overhaul the judiciary.
In a televised speech, Netanyahu said that Minister Yoav Gallant is staying in his post. “I decided to put the differences we had behind us,” he said.
Netanyahu announced late last month that Gallant was fired. The decision set off a wave of spontaneous mass protests and a general strike that threatened to paralyze the country, forcing the Israeli leader to suspend his divisive plan to overhaul the judicial system.
Why is Israel boiling?
Netanyahu’s government pledged to forge ahead with a parliamentary vote on a centrepiece of the overhaul — a law that would give the governing coalition the final say over all judicial appointments. The government also sought to pass laws that would grant the Knesset, as Israel’s parliament is called, the authority to overturn Supreme Court decisions and limit judicial review of laws.
A separate overhaul law that would circumvent a Supreme Court ruling to allow a key coalition ally to serve as minister was being delayed following a request from that party’s leader.
Is Netanyahu plotting an escape?
Netanyahu and his allies say the plan would restore a balance between the judicial and executive branches and rein in what they see as an interventionist court with liberal sympathies.
But critics say the laws will remove Israel’s system of checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of the governing coalition. They also say that Netanyahu has a conflict of interest because of his corruption trial.
Netanyahu faces charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate affairs involving wealthy associates and powerful media moguls. He denies wrongdoing and has dismissed accusations that the legal overhaul is designed to find him an escape route from the trial.
Netanyahu returned to power late last year after a protracted political crisis that sent Israelis to the polls five times in less than four years. The elections were all a referendum on Netanyahu’s fitness to serve while on trial for corruption.
(With inputs from agency)
