Tel Aviv: Israel is witnessing unprecedent and never seen before protests virtually from all sections of the society, including those in the government, after Knesset passed Monday the controversial judicial reform bill.
The legislation limiting the Supreme Court’s powers to overturn government decisions it deemed “unreasonable” passed by a 64-0 vote after opposition Knesset members abandoned the Israeli Parliament’s session in protest, some shouting:
“For shame!”
The legislation was passed even as hundreds of thousands protested against it outside the Israeli Parliament bill when it was in the session forcing the police to use water cannon to quell angry street protesters.
Netanyahu, who faces serious corruption charges and critics said the entire exercise behind the "judicial overhaul" is to save the incumbent Prime Minister, was in the hospital but got discharged ahead of the key vote Monday.
After the parliament vote, trade unions and medical professionals have threatened a general strike whereas activists began an appeal to the Supreme Court seeking its intervention.
Those opposing the bill too have decided to challenge the new law in the Supreme Court. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said he would urge the top court to strike down the law, telling the Knesset the vote marked “a takeover by an extreme minority over the Israeli majority”.
The Israeli Medical Association, which says it represents about 95% of doctors, said it would hold a 24-hour protest, with exemptions for medical care in Jerusalem and emergency care across the country.
On Monday night the streets around the parliament building in Jerusalem were thronged with approximately 20,000 protesters waving blue and white flags, some of whom marched to the city over four days last week.
There were cries as news of the vote result filtered through the crowd, together with shouts of “we will never give up”.
Walls and fences were plastered with stickers reading “we won’t serve a dictator,” “democracy or rebellion” and “save Israel from Netanyahu”, The Guardian reported.
Police used water cannon – and for the first time, skunk gas – to disperse people blocking roads, some of whom had lit fires, while malls and businesses in many cities closed their doors in solidarity.
Many protesters put plugs in their noses or held up sprigs of rosemary plucked from nearby bushes to try to control the stench from the skunk gas. At least 19 arrests have been made.
“This puts us on the way to dictatorship,” said protester Danny Kimmel in Jerusalem. “You don’t do this to people who are protesting. It’s their right.”
“This puts us on the way to dictatorship,” said protester Danny Kimmel in Jerusalem.
“You don’t do this to people who are protesting. It’s their right.”
The crisis has also seeped into the military as thousands of volunteer reservists have threatened to refuse report for duty if the government continues with the plans, and former senior officers have cautioned that Israel’s war-readiness could be at risk.
The United States, the biggest supporter of Israel, described the vote as “unfortunate” even as Israeli financial markets tumbled and the shekel hit a two-week low against the US dollar.
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