ΠΑΡΑΜΕΝΕΙ ΣΤΗ ΘΕΣΗ ΤΟΥ Ο ΥΠΟΥΡΓΟΣ ΆΜΥΝΑΣ
- 27 Apr 2023
- international
Israel's defense chief, whose ouster by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brought the country's political crisis to a head, is staying in his post until further notice, aides said yesterday, a situation that shows the government has frozen all action to to regroup.
Pressured by unprecedented nationwide protests over his coalition's signature plan to overhaul the judiciary, Netanyahu on Monday hit the pause button and called for compromise talks with the center-left opposition.
"We are in the midst of a crisis that endangers the basic unity between us," he said in a televised address. "This crisis requires us all to behave responsibly."
His move stabilized Israel's faltering economy. But questions remained about Netanyahu's credibility - and within his own camp - after some senior figures in the Likud party disagreed.
Among them was Defense Minister Yoav Gallad, who on Saturday bypassed the hierarchy by openly calling for the reform to be halted in the name of preventing anti-reform protests from spreading to the military. A day later, Netanyahu announced that he was firing Gallad.
Normally, this layoff would have taken effect today. But Gallant's aides said he never received the notification letter officially required to begin the 48-hour countdown to his removal from office and continued to work indefinitely.
Asked whether Galand was retained or replaced, spokesmen for Netanyahu and Likud had no immediate comment.
Poll "no" to the reforms
A Channel 12 poll found that 63% of Israelis - and 58% of Likud voters - oppose Gallad's removal. Similar majorities are asking Netanyahu to halt the reforms.
But with 68% of Israelis blaming him for the crisis, Channel 12 found that if elections were held today, Netanyahu and his coalition allies would lose. Two of these parties, Religious Zionism and Jewish Power, expressed their displeasure at the halt in reforms.
The leader of Jewish Power, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, said Netanyahu had assured him that if compromise talks over the Passover holiday and other national holidays in April fail, the coalition will pursue reforms unilaterally.
In parliament, the coalition on Tuesday tabled a key bill for final reading that would give Netanyahu greater control over the system for selecting judges. A parliamentary spokesman described this as a technical detail. Asked how soon the coalition could call a ratification vote, he said: "Theoretically, the next day."
There have been accusations of bad faith by the opposition, which has already appointed a negotiating team for the compromise talks.
"They are pointing a gun at our head," tweeted former finance minister Avigdor Lieberman. He accused Netanyahu of using the judicial review pause to exhaust anti-government protests and called on his fellow opposition leaders to withdraw their negotiators until the judges' bill is withdrawn from the plenary.
Likud has not yet said who will represent the coalition in the talks. There was no immediate update from President Isaac Herzog, the host of the talks, on when they might begin.
Calm on the streets
While Israeli streets were mostly quiet on Tuesday, some of the tens of thousands of Israelis who staged escalating protests against the judicial review said they would return.
"I will continue to protest until these reforms are completely withdrawn, because this is not a set of reforms, but a coup by the executive," said Eitan Kahana, a 27-year-old protester in Jerusalem.
Critics say the judicial reform threatens the independence of the courts. Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges he denies, has said the reforms balance the branches of government.
