We're going to fight back," said Inbar Orpaz, 36, speaking among the crowd outside parliament. Protesters who had converged on Jerusalem blocked a highway near parliament and were cleared by police dragging them across the asphalt and using water cannons, including one that sprayed a foul-smelling substance. Biden has also been critical of the government's steps to deepen Israel's occupation of the West Bank.The crisis has caused a deep divide in Israeli society and has seeped into the military, with protest leaders saying thousands of volunteer reservists would not report for duty if the government continues with the plans and former top brass warning that Israel's war-readiness could be at risk. The Biden administration has frequently spoken out against actions of Netanyahu's government and its overhaul plan. "As a lifelong friend of Israel, President Biden has publicly and privately expressed his views that major changes in a democracy to be enduring must have as broad a consensus as possible," the White House said. The White House said in a statement it is "unfortunate that the vote today took place with the slimmest possible majority." One demonstrator who was lying in the street told the BBC he was was defying "dictatorship" and said, "we will never surrender." At least six protesters were arrested, the Reuters news agency reported. Protesters were banging on drums and blowing horn, and police used water cannons to push them back. Mass demonstrations also erupted in central Tel Aviv, the epicenter of months of anti-government protests.Įarlier, demonstrators blocked a road in Jerusalem leading up to the parliament, and big mall chains and some gas stations shuttered their doors in protest. Walls and fences running the length of the street outside the Supreme Court, prime minister's office and parliament were plastered with hundreds of stickers reading "we won't service a dictator," "democracy or rebellion" and "save Israel from Netanyahu." Police tried to clear away the crowds with water cannons spraying skunk-scented water. Thousands of people blocked Jerusalem's main highway and gathered outside the parliament building after the vote. "No one can predict the extent of damage and social upheaval that will follow the passage of the legislation," it said. The grassroots protest movement condemned the vote, saying Netanyahu's "government of extremists is showing their determination to jam their fringe ideology down the throats of millions of citizens." More mass protests are now expected, and the Movement for Quality Government, a civil society group, immediately announced it would challenge the new law in the Supreme Court. His sudden hospitalization added another dizzying twist to an already dramatic series of events. The vote came only hours after Netanyahu was released from the hospital, where he had a pacemaker implanted. In Monday's vote, lawmakers approved a measure that prevents judges from striking down government decisions on the basis that they are "unreasonable." With the opposition out of the hall, the measure passed by a 64-0 margin.Īfter the vote, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the architect of the plan, said parliament had taken the "first step in an important historic process" of overhauling the judiciary. This is the destruction of Israeli democracy." "This is not a victory for the coalition. "It's a sad day," opposition leader Yair Lapid said after the vote. They liken the process to "illiberal" democracies like Poland and Hungary. By moving to weaken the judiciary, critics say, Netanyahu's allies will consolidate power by weakening the independence and oversight of judges. Under the Israeli system, the prime minister governs through a majority coalition in parliament - in effect giving him control over two branches of government. Members of Israel's security forces use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators blocking the entrance of the parliament (Knesset) in Jerusalem on July 24, 2023, amid a months-long wave of protests against the government's planned judicial overhaul. In Israel, which does not have a formal constitution, the judiciary plays a critical oversight role in the country's system of checks and balances.
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