Israel was rocked by further protests against the government’s planned judicial overhaul in the wake of increased violence in the West Bank, piling pressure on recently elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
(Bloomberg) —
Israel was rocked by further protests against the government’s planned judicial overhaul in the wake of increased violence in the West Bank, piling pressure on recently elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Demonstrators against the state’s bid to restrict the authority of the Supreme Court blocked main roadways on Wednesday, including the key Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway. Six were arrested by mid-morning, the latest skirmish in a controversy that’s caused a deep social rift and sparked shekel volatility and unnerved markets and investors.
Unrest in Palestinian villages has led to fights between soldiers and Jewish settlers in recent days, intensifying the worst hostilities in years. Six Israelis were arrested on suspicion of their involvement in the violence and an assault in the village of Hawara.
The twin battles have increased concerns about an escalating crisis in Israel since Netanyahu returned to power as head of a far-right coalition late last year. Critics say plans for the judiciary will hand too much power to authorities, and a committee debate about the reforms in the Knesset Wednesday turned raucous.
The government and its supporters say they are reining in an activist high court and returning power to the voters. The divide over this issue is genuine but also a proxy for the socio-economic divide between traditional, more religious Jews and secular professionals.
“Israel is on the brink of internal disintegration and severe social rift,” Yuval Diskin, former head of Israel’s domestic security agency, the Shin Bet, said at a demonstration. “It came much faster than I expected. We are liable to be on the brink of civil war and this is because of our miserable government.”
Violence Worsening
The rage in the streets is led by secular liberals who fear the government is pulling the nation toward religious nationalist policies. Every Saturday night for the last eight weeks, at least 100,000 have gathered in Tel Aviv. On Wednesday, an annual conference of the Institute for National Security Studies, an establishment foreign-policy think tank, was blocked by by protesters waving flags and shouting slogans over the judicial changes.
In a meeting in Aqaba on Monday, Israel and the Palestinian Authority agreed to work to stop the clashes, though this was undermined the same day when a young Israeli-American man was shot and killed in the West Bank.
There are fears the violence could worsen, as the Islamic holiday of Ramadan and Jewish celebration of Passover loom in early April.
Sixty-two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops since the beginning of the year, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, alongside 14 Israelis — both the highest number in years.
“The country is in a dark age,” opposition lawmaker Efrat Rayten Marom said at the committee meeting.
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