Thousands of people demonstrated in Tel Aviv overnight from Sunday to Monday after the dismissal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of his Minister of Defense, in favor of a pause in the controversial judicial reform wanted by the government.
After Netanyahu's dismissal announcement on Sunday, police say thousands of protesters converged on Kaplan Street in central Tel Aviv, the epicenter of protests since the January reform bill that divides the country.
The United States said it was "deeply concerned", and stressed "the urgent need for a compromise".
"Democratic values have always been, and must remain, a hallmark of the relationship between the United States and Israel," warned White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson.
"Fundamental changes for a democratic system should be carried out with the broadest possible base of popular support," she said.
With this reform, the government, one of the most right-wing in the history of Israel, aims to increase the power of elected officials over that of magistrates. But according to its detractors, the project jeopardizes the democratic character of the State of Israel.
Mr. Netanyahu and his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies believe it is necessary to restore a balanced balance of power between elected officials and the Supreme Court, which they consider politicized.
On Saturday, Yoav Gallant, yet from the same right-wing party as Mr. Netanyahu, the Likud, said he feared that continued divisions among the population on this issue would create a "real threat to Israel's security", and called for a one-month break in the process.
The announcement of his dismissal led to the resignation of Israel's consul general in New York, Asaf Zamir. The diplomat described on Twitter the dismissal of the minister as a "dangerous decision" which "convinced him that (he) could no longer continue to represent this government".
In Tel Aviv, protesters set fire to tires on Sunday night, police said in a statement. An AFP reporter saw protesters burning a sofa and wood and blocking a highway.
Armed with blue and white flags, demonstrators chanted slogans like "Bibi get out!", taking up the nickname of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Other spontaneous rallies took place in front of the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem as well as in other cities of the country such as Haifa (north) and Beer Sheva (south), according to local media.
"Israel's security has always been and always will be my life's mission," Yoav Gallant tweeted.
The day before, he had called for a "stopping of the legislative process" for a month, before a crucial week which should be marked by other legislative provisions and by new mass demonstrations, at the call of the organizers of the movement of protest that called for "paralyzing" the country.
"I am attached to the values of Likud (...) but the major changes at the national level must be made through consultation and dialogue", declared the minister on Saturday, calling at the same time for the cessation of the demonstrations.
"Netanyahu can fire Gallant, but he can't fire reality and he can't fire the people of Israel who oppose the madness of the coalition," tweeted opposition leader Yair Lapid.
"Israel's prime minister is a threat to Israel's security," he added.
He had greeted Mr. Gallant's remarks on Saturday evening, describing them as "a courageous step (...) for the security of Israel".
Two Likud lawmakers also tweeted their support for Gallant on Saturday, raising questions about whether the government could count on a majority if it proceeds to a vote.
Israeli MPs are expected to vote in the coming days on one of the central elements of the reform, at the heart of the concerns of its detractors, providing for the change in the process for appointing judges.
In a speech broadcast on television Thursday evening, Mr. Netanyahu, who had hitherto remained in the background on this issue, pledged to "end the division among the people", while underlining his determination to do advance the reform.
The next day, he was called to order by the courts, which deemed his public intervention "illegal", given his ongoing trials for corruption.
And on Sunday the Supreme Court gave the prime minister a week to respond to an NGO petition asking that he be punished for "contempt of court" after the speech.
According to the Movement for Quality Government in Israel petition, seen by AFP, Netanyahu, indicted in a series of corruption cases, breached a court agreement that an indicted prime minister did not not allowed to act in an area that could place him in a conflict of interest, according to a 2020 Supreme Court ruling.
27/03/2023 03:09:13 - Jerusalem (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
