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The opposition is rooted in wide sections of society, including business leaders and high-ranking lawyers. Even the country’s military, considered a beacon of stability by Israel’s Jewish majority, is embroiled in political conflict as some reservists refuse to report for duty because of the changes. Israel’s international allies have also expressed concern.
The Netanyahu Protection Law was passed by 61 votes to 47 in the 120-seat Knesset, or Israeli parliament.
It provides that the prime minister can only be declared incapable of governing the state for health reasons or mental disorders, and only he or his government can make such a decision. It comes after the country’s attorney general faced growing calls from Netanyahu’s opponents to declare him incapable of handling his legal problems. The Attorney General has already barred Netanyahu from reviewing the law, saying he risks a conflict of interest over a corruption trial.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a good governance organization, said it was challenging the law in court, which could spark the first showdown between judges and the government over legal changes. Experts say the overhaul could spark a constitutional crisis that will leave Israel in chaos over who should obey, the government or the courts.
On Thursday, protesters began a fourth day of mid-week demonstrations. They blocked major highways, set fire to tires near an important seaport, and hoisted a large Israeli flag and a banner bearing the country’s Declaration of Independence over the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City. Police said they had made several arrests across the country. Organizers said Shikma Bressler, one of the leaders of the protest, was among those arrested.
Protesters blocked the main highway in seaside Tel Aviv, and police used water cannons to disperse demonstrators in the city and Haifa to the north.
Netanyahu called on opposition leaders to “stop the anarchy immediately” after what he said was an attack on Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, the former head of Shin Bet’s internal security service. Video on social media shows a protester waving a flagpole in Dichter’s direction, hitting him once in the head, but he escaped unscathed and continued walking.
Later that day, a protest was planned in a large ultra-Orthodox city near Tel Aviv. Demonstration organizers say the demonstration is intended to reassure this community that their rights are at risk due to the overhaul. Ultra-Orthodox leaders see the demonstration in their midst as provocative.
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