Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant has recently broken ranks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for a halt to the proposed government judicial overhaul amidst protests. Gallant, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, believes that pausing the legislative changes is needed for the security of Israel due to their potential weakening of the Israel Defense Force (IDF). This has essentially opened up a possible rift in Israel’s fragile coalition government.
The Netanyahu led legislative changes seek to give the government greater control over the appointment of judges and giving the Parliament the power to override Supreme Court decisions. Government authorities have argued this is needed to rein in the Supreme Court, which they accuse of becoming insular, elitist and no longer representative of Israeli people. Those opposed to the changes fear this undermines democracy. The protests seen over the past 12 weeks highlight the scale of opposition.
An additional challenge to the legislation has come in the form of several military reservists who refused to train in protest. This, combined with Gallant’s call for a pause, saw right-wing National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, call on Netanyahu to fire the defense minister.
In response to the crisis, the High Court has granted Netanyahu a week to respond to a petition alleging contempt of court. This comes after the Israeli Attorney General declared that Netanyahu acted illegally in violation of conflict of interest orders. In spite of the opposition, Netanyahu in a speech on Thursday vowed to carry on with the reform plans and address the issues of both sides.
The Likud party holds 64 out of the 120-seat Knesset, meaning in theory 5 Likud rebels could overthrow the measure. However, votes can be abstained or missed, potentially meaning the legislation could pass with a smaller number of support.
At the heart of this dispute is the complicated situation in which Israeli democracy finds itself. Only time will tell how the nation will move forward from this turbulent period.
