Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday (March 26th) sacked Defense Minister Yoav Galant, 24 hours after he called for a month's suspension of the government's controversial judicial reform process.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to remove Defense Minister Yoav Galant," the prime minister's office said in a brief statement.
In a speech Saturday night, Yoav Galant, who belongs to the same right-wing Likud party as Benjamin Netanyahu, said he feared that further divisions among the population on the issue would create a "real threat to Israel's security."
Protests have followed one another every week since the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, one of the most right-wing in Israel's history, presented in January a reform project that divides the country.
Causing concern at home but also abroad, the reform aims to increase the power of elected officials over that of magistrates. According to its critics, it jeopardizes the democratic character of the State of Israel.
Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies believe this reform project is necessary to restore a balanced balance of power between elected officials and the Supreme Court, which they consider politicized.
"We have to stop the legislative process" for a month, Yoav Galant said Saturday night, ahead of a crucial week that is expected to be marked by more legislation and new mass protests.
"I am attached to the values of the Likud (...) But major changes at the national level must be made through consultation and dialogue," he added.
At the same time, the defense minister called for an end to the demonstrations.
With AFP
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