Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition passed the law on Thursday morning, handing politicians more control over choosing a judge.
Israel’s 120-seat parliament known as the Knesset passed two laws after an overnight debate in a vote that was mainly boycotted by the opposition. The law revamps the committee that selects judges, including Supreme Court judges, as critics say, will politicize the bench.
The law shows that the resumption of Netanyahu’s coalition’s two-year effort will expand control over other sectors of the government. Before the Hamas-led attack in October 2023 sparked the war in Gaza, Netanyahu was attempting similar laws in the face of public protests. He paused his push to maintain wartime unity.
Now, Netanyahu is returning to judicial overhauls with simultaneous efforts to weaken watchdogs in other states. He is about to fire both the Attorney General and the head of the national intelligence reporting agency.
The law passed Thursday was more extensive than the coalition’s original proposal. But despite this, they threatened to rekindle the uproar that swept the country before the war, despite Israel and Hamas being engaged in a new battle in Gaza.
A crowd of protesters gathered outside the Knesset in Jerusalem on Wednesday and waving Israeli flags to demonstrate against the legislation. But amid signs of how the war has divided the priorities of Netanyahu’s opponents, many have emerged with signs asking the government to immediately sign a contract with Hamas to free Gaza hostages.
Within the Congress building, Netanyahu gave a fiery speech, claiming that his government’s policies serve as a long and necessary correction to an unelected “deep state,” reflecting the rhetoric used by President Donald J. Trump.
