(CNN) Israeli opposition politicians on Thursday condemned a new law that would limit the ways in which an incumbent prime minister can be declared unfit, and is widely seen by critics as a way to protect Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an ongoing corruption trial.
Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli also said the protest movement in Israel over the government’s controversial judicial reforms and subsequent warnings from Washington must be a “red light” for Netanyahu.
With a final vote of 61 to 47, the Knesset approved the bill, which states that only the prime minister himself or the cabinet, with a two-thirds majority, can declare the chairman unfit. The cabinet vote would then have to be ratified by a large majority in Parliament.
In addition, “the power to declare the prime minister incapacitated will belong solely to the government or the Knesset and will be exercised only on grounds of physical or mental incapacity,” the Knesset said in a statement on Thursday.
The bill also prevents the Supreme Court from considering “a motion seeking a declaration of incompetence by the prime minister.”
“Given that an incumbent Prime Minister derives his power and authority from the people through his representatives, this proposal reflects the existing concept that the removal of the leader against his will is decided solely by the people’s representatives without the involvement of an unelected arm”, it says in the statement.
Women dance during protests against Netanyahu’s controversial judicial reform March 22, 2023 in Tel Aviv.
It came a day after the Israeli ambassador to the United States was summoned to a vote in the Knesset on Tuesday to reverse 2005 legislation that previously ordered the evacuation of four Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office later confirmed that despite the cancellations, no new settlements will be built in areas previously evacuated under the 2005 Withdrawal Law.
In a statement, the prime minister’s office said Parliament’s “decision to repeal portions of the Secession Act ends a discriminatory and degrading law that prohibited Jews from living in the territories of northern Samaria, part of our historic homeland.” Biblical name for part of the West Bank.
“However, the government has no intention of establishing new settlements in these areas.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which treats the area as a closed military zone barring entry by Israeli civilians, said they were still “learning the meaning of the draft law and acting in accordance with the law.” Any changes to the area will not be made without the consent of the IDF.
Under international law, the West Bank is considered occupied territory and settlements there illegal, which Israel denies.
In an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson on Wednesday, Labor Party leader Michaeli said: “I believe the protests must be a sign of warning and the signals coming out of Washington should be a red light for Benjamin Netanyahu and him to stop what he is doing to save not only Israeli democracy and the State of Israel, but also relations with the US.
“I can only hope that my Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will pull his act together as soon as possible and not allow US-Israel relations to get to a point that is dangerous for Israel and not good for the region,” she said continued.
Michaeli said she opposed the law, calling it a “very harmful and very dangerous decision”. “One of the drivers of this judicial coup that they are now trying to enforce is the settlers who have wanted for many, many years to overthrow Israel’s Supreme Court because they want to be able to do whatever they want to do in the West Bank,” he added she added.
The Israeli opposition leader underlined her party’s historic support for a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and nodded to the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who signed the Oslo Accords with then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. She said the Labor Party knew how “closely linked” the conflict in the West Bank was to the judiciary overhaul.
The opposition condemns the law
Opposition figures have announced plans to challenge the law, which restricts the way a sitting prime minister can be declared unfit in front of the Supreme Court. Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid called it a “disgraceful and corrupt personalized law” and that Netanyahu is ultimately “only looking out for himself”.
“Like thieves in the night, the coalition just passed a nefarious and corrupt personalized law in response to an unfounded rumor of rejection. Every citizen of Israel should know — days before Passover, while the cost of living is skyrocketing, Netanyahu is once again looking out for just himself,” Lapid said Thursday.
Michaeli said the law passed was “a shameful, shameful law whose sole purpose is to keep Netanyahu from going to jail.”
“That’s all the coalition and this government are doing, with personal legislation and the regime’s coup. They are sacrificing the State of Israel to settle under a corrupt government,” she said.
Netanyahu’s new far-right government has pushed controversial plans to overhaul the country’s judicial system by undermining the Supreme Court and weakening judicial oversight of policy-making.
Netanyahu, who is the first sitting Israeli prime minister to appear in court as an accused, is on trial for fraud, embezzlement and bribery. He denies any wrongdoing.
Demonstrators have taken to the streets in recent weeks over the government’s controversial judicial overhaul.
As part of an agreement with the court to serve as prime minister despite his ongoing trial, Netanyahu agreed to a conflict of interest statement. The Attorney General then noted that the statement meant that Netanyahu could not be involved in the policy-making of the judiciary review. The Israeli Supreme Court is currently facing a motion to declare Netanyahu unfit for violating this declaration of conflicts of interest.
For months, hundreds of thousands of Israelis have regularly taken to the streets to protest the overhaul, saying it will harm Israeli democracy. They were joined by senior figures from Israel’s security, high-tech, financial and academic fields.