Israel Watch Thread

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Twenty Striking Images of Israeli Democracy Under Siege
by Mark Murrmann
March 14 , 2023

Introduction:

(Mother Jones) Since late January, hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been loudly protesting an impending judicial overhaul by the nation’s new right-wing government. The most controversial part of the proposal gives the Knesset, Israeli’s parliament, the power to overrule supreme court decisions with a simple majority vote, which means the nation’s top court would be unable to strike down objectionable laws. It would effectively, as one Israeli news report put it, “neuter” the court.

Opponents say the changes, if allowed, will “endanger the entire legal system” and cement the power grip of the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces a corruption charge. (The Knesset already has approved another rule stating that a prime minister may only be removed from office for physical or mental unfitness.) Since the changes were proposed, Israelis have taken to the streets en masse to register their displeasure.

View photos here: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2 ... rruption/

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Huge protests in Tel Aviv & other cities in Israel (photo):

Tens of thousands of Israelis poured into the streets of cities across the country on Sunday night in a spontaneous outburst of anger after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly fired his defense minister for challenging the Israeli leader’s judicial overhaul plan.

Protesters in Tel Aviv blocked a main highway and lit large bonfires, while police scuffled with protesters who gathered outside Netanyahu’s private home in Jerusalem.

Snip

https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/03/26 ... ense-chief

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3 Israeli soldiers, Egyptian officer killed in gunbattle at the border
Source: AP

JERUSALEM (AP) — A gunbattle involving an Egyptian border guard in southern Israel along the border left three Israeli soldiers and the Egyptian officer dead Saturday, officials said. It was a rare instance of deadly violence along the frontier.

Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli army spokesperson, said the fighting began overnight when soldiers thwarted a drug-smuggling attempt across the border.

He said several hours later, two soldiers in a guard post were shot and killed. Their bodies were found after the shooting, when they did not respond to radio communications.

Hecht said the killings appeared to be connected to the thwarted drug smuggling attempt. The army said the Egyptian border guard was killed in a second exchange of fire in which a third Israeli soldier was killed.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/israel-egypt ... 4d049c9078

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Massive Crowds of Israelis Are Protesting Netanyahu’s Supreme Court Power Play, Again
by Dan Friedman
July 22, 2023

Introduction:

( Mother Jones) Tens of thousands of Israelis marched into Jerusalem on Saturday, completing a four-day hike from Tel Aviv to the ancient capital city to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s renewed effort to increase his control over Israel’s Supreme Court.

The demonstrators assembled around the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, ahead of a vote scheduled for Monday on a bill from Netanyahu’s far-right coalition government that would strip the Supreme Court of its power to declare government decisions “unreasonable.” That is one of few checks on Israeli prime ministers in a country without a written constitution or bill of rights.

Read more here: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2 ... rusalem/

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Israel judicial reform: Key bill becomes law amid mass protests

7 minutes ago

Israeli MPs have passed into law a highly controversial bill despite mass protests which had aimed to thwart it.

The law removes the power of the Supreme Court to overrule government actions it considers unreasonable.

It is the first in a series of bitterly contested reforms aimed at curbing the power of courts to be approved.

The planned reforms have triggered some of the biggest protests in Israel's history, with opponents warning they imperil Israel as a democracy.

The government argues that the measures are necessary to correct an imbalance in power which has seen the courts increasingly intervene in political decisions in recent decades.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-66258416

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