Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, approved a controversial bill to reform the legal system in a first reading on Monday night. The bill limits the powers of Israel’s Supreme Court and gives Parliament more clout.
Under the plan, the Supreme Court is no longer allowed to overturn decisions of the government, ministers and elected officials by calling them “unreasonable”. Critics fear the bill will lead to corruption and the arbitrary occupation of high office. For example, the government can appoint judges from now on. Now an independent commission continues to do so.
And 64 deputies out of 120 voted in favor of the bill after hours of debate. 56 members voted against. There will be two more votes before the change actually goes into effect. This is expected to be at the end of this month.
The changes were proposed in January by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The proposal sparked one of the country’s largest ever protest movements. Ahead of Monday night’s debate, several protesters who stormed the parliament building were turned away. Large protests were also announced on Tuesday in several Israeli cities. Protest organizers speak of a “turmoil day”.
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