A day after he called for a month-long pause in the government's controversial judicial reform process, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant was sacked on Sunday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a speech on Saturday evening, Yoav Galant said he feared that continued divisions among the population would pose a "real threat to Israel's security".
This reform, which aims to increase the power of elected officials over that of magistrates, is causing concern, both in Israel and internationally. According to its detractors, it jeopardizes the democratic character of the State of Israel.
Binyamin Netanyahu and his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies believe this reform project is necessary in order to restore a balanced balance of power between elected officials and the Supreme Court, which they consider politicized. The street, for its part, is fiercely opposed to it. Since the presentation in January by the government, one of the most right-wing in the country's history, of this reform project, demonstrations have followed one another each week.
Yoav Galant, although from the same party as the Prime Minister, the Likud, then said he was in favor of stopping the legislative process for a month, before a crucial week which should be marked by other legislative provisions and new mass demonstrations. "I am attached to the values of Likud (...) but major changes at the national level must be made through consultation and dialogue", he added, before calling, at the same time, to stopping the demonstrations.
