All eyes are on Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Whether he postpones his announced reforms, writes them off entirely or introduces them immediately: this will affect the survival of his coalition in any case.

For weeks, there have been major unrest among Israelis, and today demonstrators have once again taken to the streets in large numbers, according to Israeli correspondent Ralph Dekkers. Their main message? “Netanyahu’s stated reforms have been pushed aside,” he says. Or at least postpone it until a broader agreement can be discussed with the opposition.

This is a widely shared view, says Dekker, though he notes that protests have now intensified and that Netanyahu’s departure is something the demonstrators are calling for. But there seems to be agreement in the air, he says. “The reforms will be delayed until July, and in exchange a controversial far-right minister will be allowed to form a National Guard,” Dekkers continues. “A kind of private militia for himself, and this is a very scary move.”

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According to Dekkers, such a militia was not expected. He says that the concerned minister was one of the staunchest opponents of delaying the reforms. He has also had the desire to create a private army for some time. The question now is whether the demonstrators in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem will be satisfied with this.

United State

The conflict surrounding Netanyahu and the proposal to allow politicians to organize the judiciary have also attracted the attention of the United States. So much so that the United States issued an official warning to Netanyahu. Foreign commentator Bernard Hammelburg says that this involves quite a few interests. It is not a common thing, he says, “because allies and democracies have a rule of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.”

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He believes that while this is indeed an internal affair of Israel. However, a spokesperson for Biden announced that the United States is indeed getting involved.

relationship

The reason for this is because the relationship between the United States and Israel is not only a traditional, overt friendship, but also because the military and intelligence ties are formidable. “And it can be seen in all kinds of factors,” Hammelburg continues. Take, for example, the attacks carried out by the Israeli Air Force on Syrian and Iranian targets. All this is coordinated by the Americans. Not to mention Iron Dome. All of this was developed in cooperation with the Americans.

what is he talking about?

But what is the big problem? The right-wing government wants to pass a reform package that would allow the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) to overturn Supreme Court decisions. This means that politicians can always have the last word. “This is considered a problem by experts because Israel does not have a constitution, a Senate or a human rights court,” said Israeli correspondent Ralph Dekkers. The only real check of checks and balances comes from the Supreme Court. According to the protesters, if this power is taken away, a dictatorship will arise.

In addition, a law changing the composition of the committee that appoints judges is being discussed. In the beginning, it was judges, lawyers and politicians who appointed a judge, and now politicians have veto power.”