The country’s president is trying to mediate between the government and the opposition with the ongoing debate on the first rule of the reform, which will very possibly be approved.
The Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, began debating the first rule of the controversial reform of the judicial system, promoted by the coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Sunday, while the country’s president, Isaac Herzog, continues to try to mediate between the government and the opposition.
“This is a time of emergency. We have to come to an agreement.”, asserted the president during the “urgent meeting” he had with Netanyahu at a medical center in the Israeli city of Ramat Gan, where the chief executive underwent cardiac pacemaker implantation surgery. After that meeting, Herzog also met with the head of the opposition, Yair Lapid, and with the opposition leader of the National Unity party, Benny Gantz.
The parliamentary debate, which began at 10:00 (local time), is estimated to last 26 hours, as many opposition lawmakers have requested time to air their objections against the bill, which removes the so-called reasonableness test, which allows the Supreme Court to overturn government decisions. On Monday, once the debate is over, the final vote is scheduled, which, quite possibly, will result in the approval of the amendmentthanks to the majority that the prime minister’s coalition has in Parliament, with 64 of the 120 seats.
Seven months of social tension
To put pressure on the congressmen, tens of thousands of protesters, who arrived in Jerusalem on Saturday after having walked 70 kilometers from Tel Aviv, gathered in front of the Knesset, near which dozens of protesters set up tents, as they plan to remain there indefinitely. On the other hand, thousands of doctors from all over the country held a rally in the city, considering that the reform is an attack on democracy without which “there is no medical care.”
the day before, more than 550,000 people They marched across the country to protest the reform, which critics say will lead to an authoritarian drift. These demonstrations are added to those of the last seven months that took place since last January, when Netanyahu announced the reform project. Faced with this pressure, the process was halted in March.
In parallel, around 300,000 Israelis rallied on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street tonight to show their support for the legislation with banners reading: “People are with you: complete the reform” or “Who will protect us from the Supreme Court?”
Source: RT
