• Israel Defense Minister Calls for Halting Judicial Reform Proposal

Under a huge crisis in the country as a result of its plan of changes in the judiciary and about to complete its first three months of life, the Israeli government suffers its first major earthquake. In an unexpected move, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed the flicker of Defense, Yoav Galant exactly 24 hours after he publicly called for the freezing of the controversial proposal in the Knesset so that it had a greater consensus above all avoid a greater internal fracture that supposes, in his words, "a real danger, clear and tangible to national security."

Netanyahu returned Sunday from his visit to London with great anger not only at Galant's message but for having done so without warning and while abroad. "I have lost confidence in you," he said in a tense conversation with the defense minister and one of the top leaders of his Likud party. Galant's reaction was terse on Twitter: "The security of the State of Israel was and will always be my life's mission."

"Galant's lukewarm reaction to the signs of insubordination in the Army is the reason for the dismissal," they justify in Netanyahu's environment in reference to the growing number of reservists who announced not to appear at their service if laws are approved that they consider "strike democracy."

The prime minister's fear is that Galant will vote against the law that gives the government a majority in the commission to select judges scheduled for the next few days. It is the only law in the sweeping bill announced in January by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, scheduled for approval in the Knesset before the parliamentary recess in early April. The rest was postponed by Netanyahu to May in a move taken in the face of internal division and mass demonstrations.

"The prime minister is a danger to the security of the State of Israel," reacted the leader of the opposition, Yair Lapid, while the reaction of the leadership of the protests was to convene one on Sunday night in the Kaplan area of Tel Aviv, the usual scene of demonstrations and a few meters from the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense. The dismissal of its incumbent throws more fuel on the protests.

Galant had asked to stop the legislative initiative warning that the fracture is so great that it penetrates the Army. "Netanyahu is disconnected from reality. He is not the Bibi I knew," denounces former General Tal Rousso. The heads of the Army, the Mossad and the Shabak (internal security service) share Galant's request and warning that the crisis weakens Israel's capacity for deterrence and unity.

On the other hand, several Likud deputies had called on Netanyahu to remove Galant for acting against the will of the party and its constituents. Others in the Likud however do not understand it. The decision confirms the enormous influence of his son Yair Netanyahu who demanded his removal on social media. It also indicates that it remains firm in its intention to advance judicial reform despite warnings about its negative economic and security effects.

It is also a great victory for Levin who in recent weeks had warned him to resign if he stopped a project that "aims to end the dictatorship of the Supreme Court."

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  • Ministry of Defence
  • Israel
  • Supreme Court
  • Juan Carlos Campo
  • Twitter
  • London
  • Justice