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JERUSALEM, March 26 (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister on Sunday, a day after the former army general called for a halt to plans for an overhaul of Israel’s judiciary that has divided the country violently.
The move suggested the prime minister would push ahead with reform plans this week, sparking widespread opposition. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets, military and business leaders spoke out against it, and key Israeli allies expressed concern.
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Outgoing defense minister Yoav Gallant, a former army general, is a senior member of Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party. On Saturday, he called for a moratorium on the controversial legislation until after next month’s Independence Day holiday, citing the threat the rift poses to Israel’s national security.
Netanyahu’s office did not provide further details about the firing. Galit Distal Atbaryan, Netanyahu’s public foreign minister, said the prime minister summoned Grant to his office and told him “that he no longer has any confidence in him.” , so he was fired.”
Opposition Leader Yar Lapid said Grant’s removal was “a new low for an anti-Zionist government that jeopardizes national security and ignores warnings from all defense officials”.
“The Prime Minister of Israel is a threat to Israel’s national security,” Lapid tweeted.
Grant was the first to break with Netanyahu’s coalition late Saturday, calling for a freeze on the legislation. Grant cited the military’s turmoil over the program. But it’s unclear whether others will follow him.
This week, Netanyahu’s government is pushing for a parliamentary vote on the centerpiece of the reforms – a law that would give the ruling coalition the final say on all judicial appointments.
The government also plans to push for a parliamentary mandate to overturn Supreme Court rulings with a basic majority and limit judicial review of laws.
Critics say the set of laws would remove checks and balances in Israel’s democracy and concentrate power in the hands of the ruling coalition. Netanyahu and his allies say the plan will restore balance between the judicial and executive branches and rein in interventionist courts they see as having liberal sympathies.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Good Governance Group asked the country’s highest court on Sunday to punish Netanyahu for allegedly violating a conflict of interest agreement designed to prevent him from dealing with the country’s judiciary while he is on trial for corruption.
The Quality of Government Israel Movement, a strong opponent of the reforms, is asking the courts to compel Netanyahu to obey the law and fine or jail him if he does not. It said he was not above the law.
“A prime minister who disobeys the courts and the law is a privileged anarchist,” said Eliad Shraga, the group’s director, in line with Netanyahu and his allies’ opposition to The language used by reform protesters echoed that. “The prime minister will be forced to bow his head before the law and abide by the rules of the law.”
The Prime Minister responded that the appeal should be dismissed and said there was no reason for the Supreme Court to intervene.
Netanyahu was barred by the country’s attorney general from directly addressing his government’s judicial reform plans based on a conflict of interest agreement he must abide by, and the Supreme Court ruled in a decision on Netanyahu’s fitness to serve while he stands trial. This bit of corruption was acknowledged in the ruling.
Instead, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a Netanyahu confidant, is spearheading reforms.
But on Thursday, after parliament passed a law making it more difficult to remove the sitting prime minister, Netanyahu said he was not bound by the justice minister’s decision and vowed to step into the crisis and “mend the country’s rifts”. The statement prompted a warning from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara that Netanyahu’s involvement in the dispute was undermining his conflict-of-interest agreement.
Fast-paced legal and political developments have pushed Israel into uncharted territory and toward a new constitutional crisis, said Guy Lurie, a fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, a think tank in Jerusalem.
“In a sense, we are at the beginning of a constitutional crisis, as different governing bodies disagree on the source of authority and legitimacy,” he said.
If Netanyahu continues to interfere with reforms, Baharraf-Miara could be investigated for violations of conflict-of-interest agreements, which could lead to additional charges against him, Lurie said. He added that the uncertainty surrounding the events left him unsure of how they might unfold.
It was unclear how the court, which is at the center of a split over reform, would handle the request to sanction Netanyahu. The Quality Government campaign said the court had given Netanyahu and the attorney general a week to respond.
Netanyahu has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and bribery in three separate affairs involving wealthy associates and a powerful media mogul. He has denied wrongdoing and dismissed critics who say he will seek to escape charges through legal reform. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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