Tensions surrounding judicial reform in Israel are entering the next round: Benjamin Netanyahu has fired his defense minister, Joav Galant.
Jerusalem – Against the background of the controversial judicial reform in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired Defense Minister Joav Galant. Netanyahu has decided to “relieve Galant from his duties,” the prime minister’s office said in a brief statement on Sunday. Galant, who like Netanyahu belongs to the conservative Likud party, spoke out in favor of a one-month suspension of the legislative process in view of the mass protests against the planned judicial reform.
Crash in Jerusalem: Minister warns of “threat to Israel’s security”
Continuing popular division on this issue could become a “real threat to Israel’s security,” Galant said in his televised speech. Whoever wins this tug-of-war, “on the street or in the Knesset,” the State of Israel will be the “loser.”
He is “committed to the values of Likud” and puts “the state of Israel above everything else, but major changes at the national level must be made with caution and through dialogue,” emphasized the defense minister, who was previously considered a close confidant of Netanyahu.
Noise in Jerusalem: Allies also criticize reform plans
The reform plans of the ultra-right governing coalition aim to limit the powers of the judiciary. Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, says the reform is necessary to restore balance in the separation of powers. Critics, on the other hand, fear that the separation of powers will be abolished and that democracy will be undermined. Israel’s most important allies, including the United States, have also criticized the reform plans.
The reform plans have been causing mass protests in Israel for weeks. According to Israeli media estimates, 200,000 opponents of the project took to the streets in Tel Aviv over the weekend. (AFP)
#Netanyahu #fires #defense #minister #Galant