Israeli President Isaac Herzog took an unusual step Wednesday to try to resolve the deep political crisis the country is going through over controversial judicial reform being pushed by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Herzog has presented an alternative proposal to that of the executive branch, which has sparked one of the largest protest movements in the country’s history. “A full agreement is impossible, but at this crucial moment we must strive for a comprehensive agreement on legal issues. […] Anyone who thinks civil war is a line we will not cross has no idea,” he warned in a speech to the nation in which, without specifying its content, he proclaimed the People’s Guidelines. This is an atypical initiative by the president, who has no executive functions in Israel but can mediate in political crises.
Herzog outlined some guidelines, which were sent to MPs during his speech and posted on a dedicated website. And he has insisted that “it is neither a compromise agreement” nor a text “for or against one or the other,” but rather a document “to serve as a basis for a dialogue in the Knesset” that produces a “broad Consent” which “suppresses the existing proposal”.
The president has insisted that the current “historic crisis” is also a “constitutional moment” that opens the door to a consensus “that will bring justice and peace” and relations between the country’s different institutions, taking into account “the fears “ Determine and everyone’s point of view. “The majority of citizens want broad approval and a safe and good life. […] If only one party wins, Israel will lose,” he added.
Herzog has also lamented the “authentic and deep hatred” he has heard from both supporters and critics of judicial reform, the most contentious points of which the Knesset approved in first reading this Tuesday and against which hundreds of thousands of Israelis are taking to the streets to protest for more than two months.
The document includes some of the executive branch’s demands, but excludes the most controversial ones. For example, from seven to eleven (out of a total of 12) it increases the yes scores needed for the Supreme Court to strike down a regular law. And it can only repeal those violations of the Basic Law that have quasi-constitutional status when it comes to freedoms and human rights. New basic laws are passed in three to four readings, the last with a two-thirds majority in the Knesset.
The executive branch will also be represented on the committee appointing the court lawyers, but cannot (as intended) impose them, but must negotiate with judges and opposition candidates. It also exempts some key policy and appointment decisions from the tool the Supreme Court can use to overthrow those it deems “inappropriate.”
Subscribe to EL PAÍS to follow all the news and read without limits.
subscribe to
Prime Minister Netanyahu has already rejected the proposal. “The things the President is proposing have not been agreed by the coalition and the core elements of the proposal simply perpetuate the status quo and fail to provide the necessary balance of power. That’s the sad truth,” he said before boarding the plane to Berlin.
On the contrary, the leaders of the main opposition parties – former Prime Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) and Benny Gantz (National Unity) – have viewed it positively. The former has issued a statement asking that it be addressed with “respect and seriousness,” while the latter has called it “a basis for legislation rather than the executive branch’s dangerous proposition.”
late trip
The president’s announcement forced Netanyahu to postpone his trip to Germany to meet with Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. He had planned to start this afternoon, but he met with members of his government the afternoon before Herzog’s speech. The demonstrators against the judicial reform had gathered at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv and blocked the entrances to prevent travel at the originally planned time.
By mid-afternoon, Netanyahu had already decided to bring his return forward (Friday to Thursday) after meeting with defense chief Yoav Gallant and being informed that the army believes Hezbollah militants are behind an unusual bombing attack that took place in… a scapula took place in the north of the country, near the West Bank, last Monday.
The armed forces reached this conclusion based on the bomb used, which “is different from those normally seen in Israel and the West Bank” and on the information provided by the intelligence services. The first investigation released Wednesday by the army after partial lifting of summary secrecy suggests the man entered Israel from southern Lebanon. The assassin, whose nationality has not been clarified, was wearing an explosive belt, a rifle and a pistol when he was shot in a vehicle on Monday night. “We understand that he planned to carry out another attack,” the army said. A motorcyclist was seriously injured when the bomb exploded.
relationship with the EU
The controversy over judicial reform has crossed Israel’s borders and strained relations with the EU. An official Israeli source told this newspaper on Wednesday that the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, is not welcome in the country. Even less after last Tuesday, when he appeared before the European Parliament to open a debate on “the deterioration of democracy in Israel and its consequences in the occupied territories” and received a call from the country’s foreign minister, Eli Cohen, to blame him. hardly” their positions on the Middle East conflict and reject any “interference in domestic political affairs,” according to a statement released by Israeli diplomacy.
The clash has been criticized as a backdrop to the judicial reform proposal (which aims to weaken the Supreme Court and impair the separation of powers) and a press article in which Borrell asserts that neither Israelis nor Palestinians are “prepared for peace in extremism” in either the “impunity” of the violent actions of the settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories and proposes to change the international response to the conflict, which is characterized by “too much communication and too little action”.For Israel, the head of community diplomacy has “a crossed the line by equating soldiers and terrorists”.
According to the Israeli source, Borrell has not submitted a formal proposal for an official visit to the country, but he has provided “various indications” of his desire, and Israel has chosen to ignore them. “Receiving that would be to give him a gift to show that he is an actor in this conflict […] And there is no clearer message than not having given an answer,” he added. The unofficial veto, he added, began last December with the new coalition executive between Netanyahu’s Likud and the ultra-nationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties, the most far-right in Israel’s seven-decade history.
When asked about this, the foreign policy spokesman for the European Commission, Peter Stano, said on Wednesday that Israel had not notified Brussels of any travel ban for Borrell. “We are not aware of any ban or decision by the Israeli authorities not to allow a visit by the High Representative,” Stano said, stressing that Brussels policy is for a visit to be “by invitation” and only “if both parties are present agree on a date and an agenda”. “They can’t stop you from visiting if you’re not invited,” he summarized.
The spokesman also recalled that, as Borrell himself said Tuesday when he appeared before the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the words of the head of European diplomacy were not a personal assessment, but “the position of the 27 member states” on the situation in the Middle East.
On the 8th, Borrell released an unusual statement “on behalf of the European Union” in which he expressed the “deep concern of member states at the growing violence and extremism in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories”. As the Spaniard recalled this Tuesday during a debate on the region at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, this is the first joint statement by the 27 on the subject “in many years”, expressing concern about the escalation of tensions in the Palestinians – Israeli conflict that has caused unprecedented deaths since the Second Intifada (2000-2005). More than 80 Palestinians and 13 Israelis (plus one Ukrainian who was at the scene of an attack) have lost their lives so far this year in what is already the deadliest Israeli invasion of the occupied West Bank since 2005 (11 dead). and the worst Palestinian attack on Israelis since 2011, with seven dead.
In the joint statement, the EU “calls on the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to de-escalate the situation and to refrain from measures that would increase the already high tensions”. Also remember – as Borrell reiterated in Strasbourg – that “the settlements are illegal under international law”. “Israel must stop settlement expansion, prevent settler violence and ensure that those responsible [de la violencia] they answer before the law. Military operations must be proportionate and in accordance with international humanitarian law,” added the European statement, which also called for “an immediate end to terrorist attacks, which should be condemned by all, and the practices that support them.”
This Tuesday he also appeared before the European Parliament to open the debate on the “deterioration of democracy in Israel and its consequences in the occupied territories” in relation to the escalation of violence between Israelis and Palestinians and the proposal for judicial reform .
tense conversation
It was also the day Borrell and Cohen spoke on the phone. Both have acknowledged the existence of the call and indicated it was strained. The chief of Israeli diplomacy accused him of “attempting to interfere in Israel’s internal affairs” and “comparing the victims of terrorism on the Israeli side with Palestinian terrorists backed by the Palestinian Authority.” He also considered the 27’s position in favor of the Palestinians to be “unbalanced” and urged them to “take a different approach, one based on morals and values,” according to a statement from the ministry reporting the call.
“He wasn’t very happy, he was worried, he was asking why the European Parliament is interfering in Israel’s internal affairs,” Borrell told MPs of the conversation. The High Representative replied to Cohen that it was the Eurochamber political groups that set the title and topic of the debate and that it was not about interference. He also “kindly” reminded him that it was “normal” for MEPs to be concerned about the situation in the region, that the European Parliament could “discuss any issue it deems important” and that it was its duty to go on call before full speaking.
Borrell has not visited Israel since 2019, when he was appointed head of community diplomacy. The Israeli government, also then led by Netanyahu, already greeted his appointment with suspicion. They considered him vulnerable to unilateral recognition of Palestine as an independent state and to dialogue with Iran about its nuclear program, of which Israel is very critical.
The tone improved between mid-2021 and last December, when Israel was ruled by Naftali Bennett and later, under a rotating deal, by Yair Lapid, now the opposition leader after losing last November’s election. A month before the elections, the EU-Israel Council, with Lapid as prime minister, held its first meeting since 2012 to revitalize ties. The symbolism was clouded by Lapid’s decision to attend via video conference rather than travel to Brussels. Last January, Herzog also gave a speech to the European Parliament. Despite the political dispute, both parties maintain a fluid relationship and last June signed a gas supply agreement influenced by the war in Ukraine.
Follow all international information on Facebook and Twitteror in our weekly newsletter.
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits