Israel: Thousands protest Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to become fire defense minister

Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets this Sunday to demonstrate After the dismissal of the defense ministerYoav Gallant, who yesterday became the first member of the government to publicly oppose the progress of the controversial judicial reform promoted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The demonstrations, which according to local media gathered several tens of thousands of people, took place in different parts of the country, mainly in the cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

In Tel Aviv, thousands of people they blocked traffic on the city’s main thoroughfarecarrying Israeli flags and shouting “Democracy, Democracy”.

In Jerusalem, several hundred demonstrators broke through one of the security cordons around the prime minister’s residence and They clashed with the police.

in different cities

In parallel, groups of protesters also gathered in the cities of Haifa, in the north of the country, and Beer Sheva, in the south.

Unlike the protests against judicial reform that have been going on for twelve weeks, usually planned in advance and in coordination with the security forces, the demonstrations this Sunday were spontaneous.

Netanyahu’s rejection of Gallant’s firing it quickly spread to multiple spheres of Israeli societyincluding the unions, who according to local media could announce a major strike tomorrow.

Moreover, the Israeli consul in New York, Asaf Zamir, announced his resignation from office shortly after the minister’s departure. “After today’s events, the time has come to join the fight for Israel’s future to ensure it continues to be a beacon of democracy and freedom in the world,” he wrote on his Twitter account.

The premier’s decision to dismiss the defense minister came less than 24 hours after him will publicly urge to halt the controversial reform.

“I say this loudly and publicly, for the good of the state of Israel and our children, we have to stop this legislative process,” Gallant said during a televised address last night.

“We have to stop the demonstrations and protests, e search for dialogue Anything that damages the strength of the Army and the security system must be stopped immediately,” he added, alluding to the massive popular movement rejecting the reform and the growing number of Army reservists refusing to train and serve. to the same extent.

The controversy

Judicial reform, pushed by Netanyahu and his far-right and ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, seeks to grant more power to the executive at the expense of justicewhose independence would be compromised.

Despite criticism from countless quarters and warnings of its impact not only on the separation of powers but also on Israel’s economy, The government continues to move forward with some of the pillars of the reformincluding a law that would give the government de facto control over the judges’ selection committee.

The government intends to pass the latter law this week, which has motivated the organizers of the demonstrations to step up the protests.