Israel is in the midst of a political crisis that began with the entry of this year and culminated in recent hours after hundreds of thousands took to the streets to reject a bill backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that would amend the justice system.
The chronology of this crisis is as follows:
1-
On January 4, the draft judicial reform plan was presented by Netanyahu's government coalition, six days after the inauguration of the 6th Israeli government.
The project sparked controversy in Israel, sparked by the government's tendency to implement what it calls "reforms" in the judiciary, while the opposition describes it as an attempt to "overthrow democracy."
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On January 4, Israel's new justice minister, Yariv Levin, announced his intention to amend the judicial system to include an "exception" that would allow parliament to suspend Supreme Court decisions.
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January 7, 2023, thousands of Israelis demonstrated against the new Israeli government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu to protest what they describe as a coup against the constitution.
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On January 21, 2023, demonstrations continued and took place on a weekly basis against the far-right government in Tel Aviv, Beersheba, Haifa, and West Jerusalem, protesting the right-wing government's plan to introduce amendments to the judicial system and enact laws that protesters consider a coup against the democratic system, the rule of law, and the independence of the judiciary.
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On January 22, 2023, right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the Shas movement, dismissed Interior and Health Minister Aryeh Deri from his post, following a decision by the Israeli Supreme Court that ruled that Deri was not eligible for a ministerial portfolio due to his conviction twice for tax fraud and theft.
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On February 20, 2023, two bills were approved in first reading, one giving the ruling coalition a majority in the committee on the appointment of judges and the other preventing the Supreme Court from repealing "Basic Laws" enacted by the Israeli Knesset.
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On February 21, 2023, the Israeli Knesset approved in the first reading the first part of the plan for change in the judiciary, by a majority of 63 deputies, and returned to the Constitution Committee for preparation in preparation for voting on the second and third readings.
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On February 22, 2023, the Plenum of the Israeli Knesset approved in the preliminary debate that:
1- Two bills within the package of laws on changes in the Israeli justice system, one of which is called the "overriding clause", which provides for circumvention of the decisions of the Israeli Supreme Court and enables the Knesset to enact laws with an ordinary majority of 61 members that were struck down by the Supreme Court. This law is one of the pieces of legislation that "will weaken the judiciary and undermine the Supreme Court," along with another law passed by the Knesset in the first debate that prevents the court from repealing "Basic Laws" enacted by the Knesset.
2. The Knesset approved in the preliminary debate the so-called "Deri 2" law, which enables the reappointment of Shas party leader Aryeh Deri as minister despite a previous Supreme Court decision to ban him because of his convictions in cases of financial corruption and tax evasion. This law prohibits the Supreme Court from exercising judicial control over the appointment or cancellation of the appointment of ministers, and retains this in the hands of the Knesset.
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Demonstrations in Israel lasted for more than 12 weeks in Tel Aviv and elsewhere, until the situation exploded yesterday evening (March 26) as protesters demanded the resignation of Netanyahu and his government.