Israel’s Netanyahu Back in Hospital Day Ahead of Crucial Vote on Judicial Reform

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was recovering in a hospital on Sunday after an emergency heart procedure, as tens of thousands of supporters and opponents of his government’s judicial overhaul plan held rival rallies ahead of a key vote.Mr. Netanyahu’s sudden hospitalization for the implant of a pacemaker added another dizzying twist to an already dramatic series of events that have bitterly divided his country and are certain to shape Israel’s future. Monday’s vote in parliament is expected to approve the first major piece of legislation in the contentious plan.Mr. Netanyahu’s doctors said Sunday the procedure had gone smoothly. But by Sunday evening, Mr. Netanyahu remained in Sheba Hospital near Tel Aviv.In a short video statement from the hospital, Mr. Netanyahu, 73, said he felt fine and thanked his doctors for his treatment and the public for wishing him well.Wearing a white dress shirt and dark blazer, Mr. Netanyahu said he was pursuing a compromise with his opponents while also preparing for a vote on Monday that would enshrine a key piece of the legislation into law.“I want you to know that tomorrow morning I’m joining my colleagues at the Knesset,” he said.The overhaul calls for sweeping changes aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary, from limiting the Supreme Court’s ability to challenge parliamentary decisions to changing the way judges are selected.Mr. Netanyahu and his allies, a collection of ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties, say the changes are needed to curb the powers of unelected judges. Their opponents, coming largely from Israel’s professional middle class, say the plan will destroy the country’s fragile system of checks and balances and push Israel toward authoritarian rule.The plan has triggered seven months of mass protests, drawn harsh criticism from business and medical leaders, and a fast-rising number of military reservists in key units have said they will stop reporting for duty if the plan passes, raising concern that Israel’s security could be threatened.President Biden has called on Mr. Netanyahu to freeze the plan, and Israel’s ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, has attempted to broker a compromise between the prime minister and his opponents. Mr. Herzog, who returned Sunday from a trip to the White House, immediately rushed to Netanyahu’s hospital room.“This is a time of emergency,” Herzog said. “We have to reach an agreement.”Mr. Herzog planned meetings later Sunday with Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, and Benny Gantz, head of National Unity, another opposition party.As they spoke, tens of thousands of people were gathering for mass rallies for and against the plan. Mr. Netanyahu’s supporters thronged central Tel Aviv — normally the setting for anti-government protests — while his opponents marched on Israel’s Knesset, or parliament.Many of the protesters in Jerusalem had camped out in a nearby park, after completing a four-day march into the city from Tel Aviv on Saturday.After seven months of mass protests against the plan, tensions were surging as lawmakers began a marathon debate over the first major piece of the overhaul ahead of Monday’s voteIn Monday’s vote, legislators are to vote on an overhaul measure that would prevent judges from striking down government decisions on the basis that they are “unreasonable.”Proponents say the current “reasonability” standard gives judges excessive powers over decision-making by elected officials. Critics say removing it would allow the government to pass arbitrary decisions, make improper appointments or firings and open the door to corruption.Further ratcheting up the pressure on the Israeli leader, thousands of military reservists have been declaring their refusal to serve under a government taking steps that they see as setting the country on a path to dictatorship. Those moves have prompted fears that the military’s preparedness could be compromised.More than 100 retired security chiefs publicly supported the growing ranks of military reservists who plan to stop reporting for duty if the overhaul is advanced.“These are dangerous cracks,” a top military official, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, wrote in a letter to soldiers Sunday meant to address the tensions. “If we will not be a strong and cohesive military, if the best do not serve in the IDF, we will no longer be able to exist as a country in the region.”Associated Press

Israel’s Netanyahu Back in Hospital Day Ahead of Crucial Vote on Judicial Reform

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