Israel Watch Thread

[raklian]

[weatheriscool]

Israeli Supreme Court strikes down Bibi's controversial judicial overhaul law

Israel's Supreme Court on Monday narrowly struck down a controversial law that's part of the Netanyahu government's judicial overhaul and limited the court's ability to review government decisions.

Why it matters: The dramatic ruling could thrust Israel back into a constitutional and political crisis amid the war in Gaza and concerns about a potential war with Lebanon.

A strong reaction by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his radical right-wing political allies could push former Defense Minister Benny Gantz to leave the emergency unity government that was formed after the Oct. 7 attack.

If Gantz, who is part of the opposition National Unity alliance, left the war cabinet, it would leave Israel with a radical right-wing government to make decisions about the war, which could have implications for U.S. support of the war in Gaza.

Driving the news: The legislation the court struck down was passed last July. It limits the Supreme Court's oversight of government actions and policies and ends the court's ability to strike down government decisions and appointments on the basis of "reasonability."

The law was the first piece of legislation of Netanyahu's judicial overhaul — a plan that destabilized Israel's economy, military and foreign relations.

The Supreme Court struck down the law in an 8-7 vote.

The court ruled that the law should be canceled because it seriously and unprecedentedly damages Israel's democratic character.

Twelve out of 15 Supreme Court judges ruled that the court has the authority to conduct judicial oversight on basic laws and intervene in extreme cases when the Knesset oversteps its legislative authority.

https://www.axios.com/2024/01/01/israel ... nyahu-gaza

[weatheriscool]

Palestinian Authority prime minister and government resign

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh and his government have submitted their resignations, he announced Monday.

“I would like to inform the honorable council and our great people that I placed the government’s resignation at the disposal of Mr. President (Mahmoud Abbas), last Tuesday, and today I submit it in writing,” Shtayyeh said in a post on Facebook.

The resignation comes as the Palestinian Authority (PA) comes under intense pressure from the United States to reform and improve its governance in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The PA has long been seen as corrupt by US politicians and Palestinians themselves.

The PA was set up in the mid-1990s as an interim government pending Palestinian independence after the Palestine Liberation Organization signed the Oslo Accords with Israel. It is headquartered in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah and exercises nominal self-rule in parts of the territory.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/26/middleea ... index.html

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

[Time_Traveller]

Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu protests put political divides back on show

7 hours ago

Israel's deep political divisions are back on public display.

They were put to one side for a while, as shock and national unity followed the 7 October attacks by Hamas - but six months later, thousands of protesters are once again on Israel's streets.

The war has turbocharged their determination to unseat Israel's longest-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In Jerusalem, police used skunk water - a foul-smelling substance fired from water cannon - to clear protesters who had blocked the Begin Boulevard, the city's major north-south highway.

Well-worn slogans demanding his resignation and early elections were amplified by newer ones calling for an immediate deal to free about 130 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. An unknown number of them are presumed dead.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68705643

[Time_Traveller]

Israeli minister vows to quit war cabinet if PM fails to agree new Gaza plan

Sat 18 May 2024 20.09 BST



The Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has threatened to resign if Benjamin Netanyahu fails to adopt an agreed plan for Gaza, calling into question the future of the Israeli government.

During a press conference on Saturday, Gantz announced that if a plan for postwar governance of the territory is not consolidated and approved by 8 June, his opposition National Unity party will withdraw from the coalition government.

The press conference came just hours after the Israel Defense Forces said it had recovered the body of another hostage, Ron Benjamin, 53, who had been taking part in a cycle ride near the border with Gaza when Hamas launched its bloody attack on 7 October.

His body was found along with three other hostages – Itzik Gelernter, Shani Louk and Amit Buskila – whose remains were recovered on Friday.

“Personal and political considerations have begun to enter the most sacred parts of Israel’s defense,” Gantz told reporters.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/artic ... f-her-body

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

[Time_Traveller]

Israel’s plan to ban Unrwa from accessing Gaza marks new low in its relations with UN

Fri 25 Oct 2024 06.00 BST

imminent passage of a bill in the Israeli Knesset designed to make it impossible for the UN relief and works agency for Palestinians (Unrwa) to operate in Gaza and West Bank.

Unrwa has long been a target of Israel, predating its claims that up to 12 members of the group’s staff took part in the 7 October attacks , but the move to ban the agency altogether signals a fresh polarisation that may take years to reverse.

The consequences of a major US ally in the Middle East being largely contemptuous of the UN and the international legal institutions it upholds are likely to be long-lasting and profound.

In a sign of support for the bills, the former defence minister Benny Gantz accused Unrwa of choosing “to make itself an inseparable component of Hamas’s mechanism – and now is the time to detach ourselves entirely from it … Instead of fulfilling its purpose and improving the lives of refugees, Unrwa does the opposite and perpetuates their victimisation.”

The west has had doubts about aspects of Unrwa ‘s neutrality but still sees it as the best body available to deliver aid, education and health to Palestinians. If the Knesset succeeds in shutting down the organisation, the question of how to channel aid to 2.4 million people in Gaza and the West Bank will become acute.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... ns-with-un

[Powers]

Setting up a siege campaign in the 21st Century, great.[/s]

[caltrek]

Trump Israel Ambassador Pick Mike Huckabee is Longtime Ally of Settlers
by Barak Ravid
November 12, 2024

Introduction:

(Axios) President-elect Donald Trump announced he will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Why it matters: Huckabee has a close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has also repeatedly expressed support for Jewish settlers and has backed the idea of Israel annexing parts of the occupied West Bank.

• Israel already has its most pro-settler government in history, and some on the Israeli right now hope Trump's second administration will be the most pro-settler ever in the U.S.

What they're saying: "Mike Huckabee loves Israel and the people of Israel... he will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East," Trump said in a statement.

• In 2015, Huckabee said Israel has a stronger historical connection to the West Bank than the U.S. has to Manhattan.

• In 2019, Huckabee said that he personally believed Israel had the right to annex parts of the West Bank.

Read more here: https://www.axios.com/2024/11/12/mike- ... settlers

[weatheriscool]

Trump suggests billions for Israel at stake over 'war hero' Netanyahu's corruption trial

Source: The Independent

Saturday 28 June 2025 21:59 EDT

President Donald Trump appeared to suggest that billions of dollars of U.S. aid to Israel could be at stake if prosecutors do not drop corruption charges against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump lashed out at Israeli prosecutors in a Truth Social post Saturday evening and said it was “terrible” what was happening to “war hero” Netanyahu, who faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He denies all of the allegations.

While the president did not directly threaten prosecutors, he highlighted that the United States has sent billions of dollars to Israel and said the nation was “not going to stand” for it.

“It is INSANITY doing what the out-of-control prosecutors are doing to Bibi Netanyahu,” Trump said. “The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this.” He called Netanyahu’s prosecution a “POLITICAL WITCH HUNT” and compared the case to the “very similar to the Witch Hunt that I was forced to endure” following the president’s multiple indictments on conspiracy and fraud charges.

Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid, having received hundreds of billions of dollars in military and economic support over the last several decades, including billions in additional support for Israel during its war in Gaza.

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/wo ... 78949.html

[weatheriscool]