Israel has been plunged into a constitutional crisis after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, for challenging his judicial overhaul plan. The move sparked spontaneous protests across the country, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets in cities including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Protesters blocked highways and lit bonfires, while police used water cannons to push them back from Netanyahu’s residence. The unrest follows months of protests against the prime minister’s plan to overhaul the judiciary, which has alarmed business leaders, former security chiefs and close allies including the United States.
Gallant had been the first senior member of Netanyahu’s Likud party to speak out against the overhaul, warning that it risked “a clear, immediate and tangible threat to the security of the state”. In response, Netanyahu dismissed him without naming a replacement or giving any other details. Gallant, a former navy admiral, wrote on Twitter that “the state of Israel’s security has always been and will always be my life’s mission”.
Opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz condemned Netanyahu’s moves, saying that “state security cannot be a card in the political game” and calling on the Likud party not to have a hand in “the crushing of national security”. The head of the Histadrut labour federation promised a “dramatic” announcement on Monday, while Israel’s consul-general in New York resigned over the dismissal. Research universities announced they would stop holding classes due to the legislative push, calling for its immediate freeze.
The turmoil comes as a bill giving the executive more control over the appointment of judges is expected to be brought for ratification this week in the Knesset, where Netanyahu and his allies control 64 out of 120 seats. The plan also seeks to grant parliament the authority to overturn Supreme Court decisions. Netanyahu and his allies argue that it will restore a balance between the judicial and executive branches and rein in what they see as an interventionist court with liberal sympathies. Critics say the laws will remove Israel’s system of checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of the governing coalition. They also argue that Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, has a conflict of interest.
Ofer Cassif, an Israeli politician and Knesset member for the leftist Hadash party, said that the government’s plan was not to fix or amend the judicial system, but to take control over it. He described the situation as a “regime coup” and warned that Israel was at risk of becoming a “full fledged fascist dictatorship”.
The fast-paced legal and political developments have catapulted Israel into uncharted territory, according to Guy Lurie, a research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute. He said that there was a disagreement over the source of authority and legitimacy of different governing bodies, leading to a constitutional crisis. The as-yet-unscheduled vote on the judicial overhaul has been thrown into question by the wave of protest sparked by Gallant’s removal and the deepening splits within the coalition.