It’s important for me to be precise, because I know the mechanisms of thought enforcement in my political camp, which will want to turn my words into support for Netanyahu. I firmly oppose the lockdown, but the fact that Israel is enforcing it by using the army doesn’t make the paratroopers’ presence at checkpoints proof that “the dictatorship is already here.” Certainly no more than the curfew in Spain and the soldiers patrolling the streets there were proof of Franco’s return.
Archiv: Knesset
Earlier this week Netanyahu extended the lockdown regulations to include a ban on protesting further than 1km from home. While stifling the regular demonstrations at Balfour and other epicentres, protestors responded by demonstrating at every street corner across the country.
Hundreds of Small Protests Mushroom Across Israel Over ‚Draconian‘ Restrictions
Thousands of anti-government demonstrators took on Thursday to the streets across Israel, protesting the latest measures limiting the right to protest during the country’s second coronavirus lockdown.
A Body Blow to Democracy
It’s important to be precise: In practice, this legislation does not limit demonstrations, it bans them. The proposed restrictions are so draconian that they amount to a prohibition. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is attempting, in the most cynical fashion, to exploit the coronavirus and the restrictions needed to fight its spread in order to undermine fundamental democratic rights and to suppress the dissent against him and his incorrigible government.
Coronavirus Israel Live: Netanyahu Says Exit Strategy May Take Six Months to a Year
Netanyahu says lockdown won’t be lifted in a month ■ Knesset passes law limiting protests
The High Court of Justice has given little help to the #protest movement against Prime Minister Benjamin #Netanyahu, slow-walking their petition to strike down new corona-era limits on demonstrations. @jeremybob1 reports.
High Court says it won’t block a coronavirus law limiting protests, for now
Justice Neal Hendel has given the government a week — until October 7 — to respond to the Movement for Quality Government’s petition, according to an update by the plaintiffs on their Twitter account.
Israel Didn’t Just Limit Demos. It Neutered the Right to Protest
The right to protest, the beating heart of freedom of political expression, is the cornerstone of democracy. It’s even more so during a health crisis
The Bibi Cult Has Finally Detached Itself From Israeli Society
Today, none of them would even trust an agreement to buy a bicycle from him. They’ll turn their backs on him when the scent of his weakness strengthens, at which point the Bibi-ists will call them a radical leftist faction financed by the New Israel Fund.
The haters of the old elite and Mapai followed Netanyahu because he promised to destroy these groups – and indeed in this realm he has chalked up a few achievements.
Coronavirus Israel Live: Lockdown Won’t Be Lifted Within Month, ‚May Take Much Longer,‘ Netanyahu Says
Also on Tuesday, the Knesset is debating an amendment to the government’s coronavirus law that would bar protesters from traveling more than a kilometer (0.6 mi) from their homes to attend a demonstration.
Outside, hundreds of protesters gathered to protest the legislation, three of whom were arrested by Israel Police.
Limiting Protests Back in Focus as Netanyahu Gets Conditional Support From Gantz’s Party
Parliamentary voting will resume after the government failed to complete ratification of the legislation on Friday, and so protests were held Saturday night, as they have been for the past several months on Saturday evenings.
The government has sought to limit the distance protesters can protest to within 1 kilometer from their homes, a restriction which the current version of the law, passed in July, specifically prohibits. The government is now seeking to restrict protesters’ movements.
Thousands of Israelis Join Protest Caravan Against Netanyahu After Attempts to Curb Demonstrations
The motorcades were organized in light of the government’s attempts to curtail citizens‘ right to demonstrate during the country’s second nationwide lockdown. Despite gaining government approval, restrictions that would only allow Israelis to protest within a 1,000 meter distance from their home failed to make it through the Knesset.
Netanyahu Seeks Emergency Powers to Quash Protests Under Coronavirus Regulations
The Knesset, mired in political deadlock, failed to pass legislation that would limit the right to protest under the coronavirus restrictions that took effect at 2 P.M. Friday.
The Law for Declaring War on Protests
A new amendment to the coronavirus law is meant to enable the cabinet to prevent demonstrations outside the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem. This is a dangerous amendment that undermines Israel’s democratic character. Virtually its only purpose is to give the cabinet the power to prevent people from protesting in the places where they have been doing so until recently.
Netanyahu Has Become All-powerful Even Though Most Israelis No Longer Believe a Word He Says
Outside Netanyahu’s fanatic base, no one in his right mind believes Netanyahu anyway. A poll released on Sunday by Channel 13 revealed that 50 percent of the Israeli public assumes that Netanyahu’s top priority in running the country is to is avoid his upcoming criminal trial, currently slated to start in January. Only 18 percent believe that Netanyahu’s actions stem from love of country and another 14 percent cite ideological differences with the center-left.
Neuwahl in Israel vorerst abgewendet
Kurz vor Ablauf einer Frist billigte das Parlament in Jerusalem gestern eine Gesetzesinitiative, die weitere Zeit für die Verabschiedung des Haushalts einräumt. Hätte die Knesset nicht rechtzeitig zugestimmt, hätte sich das Parlament automatisch aufgelöst. Die vierte Wahl in weniger als zwei Jahren wäre die Konsequenz gewesen.
At 11th Hour, Israeli Parliament Staves Off Election With 120-day Extension of Budget Deadline
Over the past few days, sources in both parties assessed that the chances that the rotation agreement, which would see Gantz replacing Netanyahu as prime minister, actually being fulfilled are not particularly high, and that the next elections are just a matter of time.
What Defendant Netanyahu Really Wants
So we must take seriously the report in Israel Hayom, the Netanyahu family’s private journal, saying that the prime minister is willing to give up the one-year budget – and consequently an election – in exchange for appointing the police commissioner and attorney general of his choice.
A Bruising No-holds Barred Exchange: What We Saw in the Bibi-Lapid Showdown
Gantz has now destroyed his own credibility by joining Netanyahu’s coalition, so has Labor leader Amir Peretz. Lapid remains the only leader of a major party on the center-left. Netanyahu has no choice but to take him on. But while Lapid’s inexperience and dilettantism gives Netanyahu ample ammunition against the former chat-show host and columnist, it also creates a dilemma for him. Attacking Lapid with all guns blazing increases his popularity in the anti-Netanyahu camp, where many have had trouble taking Lapid seriously. Lapid, unlike Gantz, Gabbay and Herzog, is also prepared to follow Netanyahu into the mud.
Netanyahu demanding changes to coalition deal to prevent elections: report
The Israeli premier reportedly wants immediate elections in case the High Court of Justice disqualifies him from serving as alternate prime minister, after his rotation with Gantz commences in November 2021, due to the indictments filed against him.
His second demand is to dissolve a public committee slated to appoint the state prosecutor and police commissioner and transfer the procedure to the government instead.
The report suggested that Gantz’s Blue and White party will find it „difficult“ to approve Netanyahu’s first request.
Netanyahu: Protesters Against Me Are Anarchists, Not Victims of Pandemic
Coalition whip Miki Zohar, who spoke before Netanyahu, warned that „the right to protest cannot be allowed to become the right to contract the coronavirus.“ He called the left-wing „dangerous“ and attacked the Likud’s senior coalition partner – Benny Gantz’s Kahol Lavan party – for „urgently“ defending the right to protest.
The Likud Continues to Drop in Polls; Joint List Gaining Strength
Labor, Otzma Yehudit, Derech Eretz, Gesher and Bayit Yehudi all part of the right-wing coalition led by Netanyahu would not pass the electoral threshold (3.25%), according to the poll. Consequently, based on this poll, the right-wing bloc, would win a total of 60 seats, one short of a majority in the 120 seat Knesset.
Israel: Gyms reopen under parliamentary panel ruling defying gov’t
Most sports facilities were ordered shut on July 17 following a government vote on a package of measures aimed at stemming the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
However, on Thursday, the Knesset panel supervising the country’s coronavirus response voted to strike this restriction down
Thousands Protest Israeli Gov’t Handling of Economic Crisis, Call for Netanyahu’s Resignation in Jerusalem
Thousands of protesters gathered outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday, before marching to the Knesset, supervised by a major police presence.
As infections rise, Knesset panel again overrules ministers, reopens restaurants
The pressure led Netanyahu to backtrack at the last moment and push off the planned closure from Friday to Tuesday morning.
Knesset Votes Down Probe of Judges as Gantz-Netanyahu Crisis Brew
The Knesset on Wednesday voted against forming a commission of inquiry that will probe conflicts of interest of Supreme Court justices.
Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party said it would back the initiative by far-right lawmaker Bezalel Smotrich of the Yamina faction to establish such a commission.
Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz’s Kahol Lavan party called the move „a declaration of war on democracy.
Joint List to EU: Suspend Ties with Israel if It Won’t Desert Annexation
In letters to senior EU officials, including foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the 15 Joint List MKs wrote that “the traditional approach based on providing incentives to Israel has thus far failed to achieve our shared legitimate positions.” According to Hadash MK Youssef Jabareen, “We requested that top EU officials act to prevent annexation including re-evaluating the EU-Israel partnership agreement, recognizing a Palestinian state according to the ’67 borders and labeling goods from the occupied Palestinian territories. Palestinians deserve independence and freedom.”
Joint List Urges Major British Parties to Oppose Annexation
The Joint List called on Britain’s biggest political parties to vigorously oppose Israel’s plans to annex parts of the Palestinian occupied West Bank. The two letters, dated June 26 were penned by Hadash MK Yousef Jabareen, the head of the Joint List’s international relations committee, and were sent to the UK Conservative party leader, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and the Labour party’s leader, Sir Keir Starmer. In the letters, the Joint List parliamentarians said the UK needed to “actively oppose” attempts by Israel to unilaterally annex territory.
“History has demonstrated the tragic consequences of illegal annexations,” the letter read. “We fear that if Britain and its European allies do not urgently act to prevent this impending annexation, our region may witness yet another major upheaval.”
Palestinian-Israeli Joint List urges US Democrats to stop annexation
(25.06.2020)
So far, the party has only verbally denounced Israel’s plans. The campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has categorically ruled out setting conditions on US aid to Israel.
In the Senate, a letter warning that annexation would „erode the strong support among the American people for the special relationship and diplomatic partnership with the United States that Israel currently enjoys“ only gained the support of 21 legislators.
15 members of the Israeli Knesset’s Joint List sent a letter to Democrats, calling on them to oppose annexation: „Democrats have a decision to make. Will they keep wringing their hands and expressing ‘concern,’ or are they going to do something about it?“
Joint List MKs to Democrats in the US Congress: Stop the Annexation
Hadash MK Aida Touma-Sliman (Joint List), who initiated the letter, said about the appeal to Congress: “The annexation and the occupation are international issues. The US administration constantly intervenes in the region and gives backing to the oppression of Palestinians. The administration can give the green light or put the brakes on annexation. Therefore, we have asked members of the Democratic Party, who might assume power soon, to express their clear objection to Israel’s annexation plans, to denounce the entire Trump plan, and to clarify that, if such plans are implemented, future administrations will not recognize their legitimacy. Annexation is illegal according to international law and is a crime against the Palestinian people. The entire international community must stand against it.”
Palestinian Members of Israeli Parliament Call on Democrats to Oppose Annexation
House Democrats are currently circulating a letter opposing annexation, but its wording is based around concerns for Israel’s security and there’s no mention of holding the country accountable for any of its actions towards Palestinians. A letter developed by Senate Democrats earlier this year implied that the United States/Israel relationship could be threatened by annexation, but any mention of this possibility was quickly removed.
This letter was sent to democratic members of US congress. The Joint List calls on Democrats to state loudly and clearly that they oppose Israel’s illegitimate annexation plans and the occupation.
(26.06.2020)
Coronavirus Israel Live: Knesset Shuttered After Lawmaker Diagnosed With COVID-19
The Knesset announced on Thursday morning that all committee meetings scheduled for the day were postponed and that workers were instructed not to come to in unless it was essential to do so.
Israel Parliament votes to approve Netanyahu-Gantz unity government
The Knesset (Israel Parliament) also passed a raft of legislative changes to the country’s semi-constitutional Basic Laws, paving the way for a government to be established after more than a year of political deadlock.
Likud, Blue and White agree to revise unity deal after Supreme Court condemnation
The parties also decided that emergency orders instated to fight the coronavirus pandemic would not extend beyond six months.
The bill known as the „Norwegian law,“ which allows any Member of Knesset (Israel Parliament) appointed to a ministerial post to temporarily resign from the legislative chamber, will reportedly be dropped.
Netanyahu Is Above the Law
Every day that passes provides more proof of the twisted state of Israeli democracy, in which a defendant under criminal indictment leads the government and is a candidate to form the next one.
Israel’s Gatekeepers Have Become Enablers of a Dangerous Coronavirus Policy
The moment Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his plan to use “technological methods from the war on terror” to track coronavirus patients, it was clear that it would be impossible to take this candy away from the government’s eager hands. The term “dangerous precedent” was coined for just such situations, in which a tool created for extreme situations slowly makes its way into daily life.
The law as currently written does not explicitly say whether or not an indicted MK can form a government, and the High Court is being asked to extrapolate. But nothing stops these >70 MKs from amending Israel’s Basic Laws to explicitly approve him if the ruling is unfavorable.
Netanyahu-Gantz Deal Might Mean Ordinary Israelis Must Save the Day
Nothing of the like has been seen before – not in Israel or in any other advanced democracy. This political agreement, fundamentally corrupt and rotten, emasculates the Knesset under cover of the coronavirus, undermines the foundations of our system of government and subordinates the Supreme Court to the government.
The obvious reason for its existence is neither the coronavirus nor the crisis, but immunity for the criminal defendant, Benjamin Netanyahu, in any situation and at any price.
Netanyahu: Masses Will Take to the Streets if Court Ousts Me
“Let there be no doubt, the High Court will take the opportunity to oust me,” Netanyahu himself says in these conversations. He warns that if the court prevents him from being prime minister, or if a law is enacted banning him from running for the post in the future, a civil rebellion will erupt. “Masses will take to the streets,” he predicts. “There will be a call to boycott the election.”
Netanjahu profitiert vom Polit-Chaos
Der seit 14 Jahren in Israel regierende Netanjahu steht wegen Bestechlichkeit, Betrugs und Untreue unter Anklage. Er streitet alle Vorwürfe ab und sieht sich als Opfer der Staatsanwaltschaft und der Medien.
Der Korruptionsprozess gegen ihn hätte eigentlich Mitte März beginnen sollen, wurde aber wegen der Coronavirus-Pandemie um zwei Monate auf den 24. Mai verschoben.
Israel: Regierungsbildung erneut gescheitert
Liegt das Mandat bei der Knesset, kann jeder Abgeordnete – auch Gantz und Netanjahu – versuchen, binnen 21 Tagen die Unterstützung von 61 der insgesamt 120 Parlamentarier zu finden. Danach hat er noch einmal zwei Wochen Zeit, eine Koalition zu schmieden. Scheitert dies, muss Israel zum vierten Mal seit April 2019 wählen.
Netanyahu and Gantz Fail Again: No Unity Gov’t in Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival Benny Gantz failed to reach a deal after they met Wednesday for the third time since Monday, in a last-moment attempt to form a national unity government to confront the ongoing health emergency and the upcoming economic crisis.
Will the Defendant Appoint the Judges?
One of first jobs facing a Netanyahu-Gantz government will be to appoint a permanent state prosecutor. Netanyahu must not be allowed to control or have even the slightest influence over who gets this post, given the important role the state prosecutor will play both in managing Netanyahu’s trial and in potential future investigations.
Israel: Gantz’s Blue and White faction finalizes split
The Blue and White alliance finalized its split Sunday, which saw Benny Gantz-led faction, set to form a unity government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, divorcing fellow centrist parties Telem and Yesh Atid, who will remain in opposition.
Report: Gantz to support law keeping Netanyahu minister despite indictments
Israel Resilience party leader Benny Gantz will reportedly support a new law allowing incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to serve in the government despite multiple indictments against him, according to Hebrew media.
Current Israeli Parliament (Knesset) legislation bars elected officials from serving as government ministers while being charged with a crime.
Meretz leader Nitzan Horovitz: You elected Gantz? You got Netanyahu
Horovitz added that Gantz was “spitting in the face” of his voters with his latest decision.
The Meretz leader called on others in the left bloc to not support this move.
Blue and White splitting after Benny Gantz elected Knesset Speaker
In a dramatic turn of events, the Blue and White Party that served as the alternative to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the March 2 election, broke up on Thursday after party head Benny Gantz decided to enter Netanyahu’s government.
After a vote according to new party lines of 74-18 with many boycotts, @gantzbe is now officially speaker of the Knesset. He will soon be foreign minister.
More drama: Yesh Atid formally requested to split out of Blue and White. @yairlapid : @gantzbe decided to crawl into a government with @netanyahu . @bogie_yaalon also breaking off.
In a dramatic turn of events, Blue and White is on the verge of breaking up after @gantzbe agreed to Likud’s demand for him to be the candidate to replace @YuliEdelstein in order to enable a unity government:
The Knesset Arrangements Cmte just voted 9-7 to have the Knesset plenum meet at 4pm to pick a new Knesset speaker
Israel: Vote for Knesset Speaker to be held Thursday, Supreme Court orders
Israel’s Supreme Court ordered a Thursday vote to elect a new Knesset (Israeli Parliament) speaker after Yuli Edelstein announced his resignation Wednesday, allowing senior MKAmir Peretz to lead the plenary.
The court decided late Wednesday night to hold the vote Thursday.
The High Court ruled Thursday overnight that chairman of the Labor Party Amir Peretz will be appointed as the temporary Knesset Speaker
High Court Appoints Temporary Knesset Speaker to Elect Replacement
In the ruling, Supreme Court President Justice Esther Hayut attacked Edelstein, saying he had committed „an unprecedented violation of the rule of law.“ Hayut had strongly criticized Edelstein’s decision to lock the plenary contrary to the court’s decision.
Earlier, the High Court debated a petition to accuse Edelstein of dishonoring the court, after he resigned earlier Wednesday, locking the Knesset plenum contrary to the court’s decision, which ruled that a new Speaker will be selected by Wednesday midnight.
Knesset Mutiny, Produced and Directed by Netanyahu, Will Live in Infamy
Never before has such a senior public official – Edelstein is second in line to President Rivlin in the state’s official hierarchy – thumbed his nose so directly at Israel’s judicial system, sparking an unprecedented constitutional crisis in the midst of the coronavirus crisis which is plaguing both Israel and the world.
There’s no direct analogy, of course, with the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor that spurred FDR to make his famous “infamy speech” while asking Congress to approve a declaration of war against Japan – other than in the potential if not existential threat that Edelstein’s move poses to Israel’s future.
Israel’s Rivlin: „It is our obligation to obey court’s decrees“
This prompted the High Court to convene urgently to decide how to move forward, with proceedings seemingly set to extend into the night.
Knesset Speaker Resigns, Subverts High Court Ruling to Hold Vote on His Replacement
According to Knesset protocols, Edelstein’s resignation will come into effect within 48 hours. The Knesset won’t be able to vote on a new Knesset speaker until then, and Edelstein said that the Knesset will not be able to convene for a vote until Monday. Benny Gantz’s Kahol Lavan is looking into ways to circumvent the protocols and appoint an acting Knesset speaker.
Netanjahu-Verbündeter tritt als Parlamentspräsident zurück
Nach starkem Druck der Opposition zu seiner Ablösung hat Israels Parlamentspräsident Juli Edelstein heute seinen Rücktritt erklärt. Der Schritt erfolgte vor einer erwarteten Abstimmung über einen neuen Parlamentspräsidenten. Das höchste Gericht in Jerusalem hatte festgelegt, die Wahl müsse spätestens heute abgehalten werden.
Gantz Backs Off of Unity With Netanyahu, Eyes Control of Parliament Instead
While last week Gantz agreed in principle to join a unity government with Likud that would be headed by Netanyahu for a limited period until Gantz replaced him, he has pulled back following criticism from supporters.
“First, we will get Israeli democracy back to working – and later we will form a government that will deal with the coronavirus and the other challenges that are on the line,” Gantz wrote on Facebook on Tuesday. “We must not let the coronavirus crisis, which requires thorough attention – medical, social and economic – trample over Israeli democracy. Not on my watch.”
Netanyahu’s Likud accuses Blue and White of ’stealing the Parliament‘
Other special committees to be established will focus on education, violence in Israeli Arab communities and labor and welfare; the four special panels will need to be approved by the plenum Tuesday.
These included Finance and Foreign Affairs and Defense panels, with the latter set to establish a special committee that will supervise the contentious Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency)-led coronavirus patients surveillance program.
Top Likud Ministers Change Tune on High Court Ruling, Back Vote on Knesset Speaker
Hanegbi, who heads the Agriculture Ministry, and Elkin, minister for Jerusalem affairs and environmental protection, are joining Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and Likud parliamentarian Gideon Sa’ar, who is known as a Netanyahu rival, in supporting the court’s decision.
Despite also voicing criticism of the ruling, on Monday Erdan said „we must respect the ruling or else resign ourselves to anarchy,“ while Sa’ar stressed that calls not to accept a direct court ruling are „unacceptable.“
Lawmaker From Gantz’s Party to Head Main Knesset Committee, Panels Begin Work
A lawmaker from Benny Gantz’s party was appointed as the chairman of a crucial Knesset committee and the Knesset approved two additional committees late Monday night, allowing the parliament to begin its work following Israel’s March 2 election…
Didn’t take long for the High Court to get back to Edelstein and now they’re not “requesting” any more. They’re ordering him in a 19-page ruling to let the vote for his replacement go ahead by Wednesday + accusing him of undermining democracy.
Crazy turn of events.
High Court rules Edelstein must allow vote for new Speaker
The High Court ruled in a unanimous decision Monday that Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein must convene the Knesset no later than Wednesday, to elect his replacement.
After Week-long Paralysis, Knesset Approves Forming Crucial Panel
The right-wing bloc aligned with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boycotted the vote, excluding Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein who abstained and Minister of Construction and Housing Yoav Gallant, who attended as a representative of the government, but did not participate in the vote.
The composition of the arrangements committee will give the center-left bloc a one seat advantage with 9 members, relative to the right-wing bloc’s eight members.
Israel: Edelstein poised to answer High Court as Likud members call to defy ruling
Israel’s High Court of Justice approved Knesset (Israel’s Parliament) Speaker Yuli Edelstein’s request to submit his answer today at 9 pm (local time) regarding whether he will convene a parliamentary vote for his replacement.
Israel: Supreme Court hears petition on replacing Knesset Speaker Edelstein
Throughout Israel’s 72-year existence, the Knesset Speaker had only been replaced once a new government was sworn in. Thus, replacing Edelstein before a government is formed would represent an unprecedented move, even with a majority vote.
Israel’s top court orders parliament to clarify speaker vote
The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the country’s parliament to reconvene for the selection of a new speaker, dealing a blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he tries to steer the country through the coronavirus crisis and fend off a looming corruption trial.
The current speaker, Yuli Edelstein of Netanyahu’s Likud party, suspended the parliament’s activities last week, citing procedural issues and restrictions on large gatherings due to the virus.
Hundreds protest in front of Knesset, calling on speaker to resign
Edelstein, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party, last week suspended parliamentary activities, preventing the newly elected legislature from choosing a new speaker and forming committees critical to the country’s fight against coronavirus.
Lawmakers arrive at first session of Israeli #Knesset greeted by protesters demanding to replace speakers of the parliament @YuliEdelstein . @Likud_Party say if he is replaced they will scuttle unity government .
Coronavirus Crisis Accelerates Israel’s Slide Into Erdogan-style Authoritarianism
Monday is an important test for Israeli democracy. The Knesset is due to resume its deliberations amidst the political crisis and the spread of the coronavirus.
If the Knesset chairman Yuri Edelstein, backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political hatchetmen from Likud, continue with their delay tactics to prevent the legislative branch performing its duty, Israel will win the dubious title of the only „parliamentary democracy“ to fail to recognize the results of its last democratic general election and to be governed by an inoperative parliament.
Knesset Speaker Edelstein and His Puppet Master Netanyahu, Free Israel’s Parliament
Since a majority of Knesset members – 61 out of 120 – oppose the government, Edelstein was dispatched to block the activity of the legislature and prevent it from voting in a new speaker. It is inconceivable that a temporary speaker would use his authority to set the agenda in order to prevent the selection of a permanent speaker. It is parliamentary bullying, and it must stop immediately.
Raise the Black Flag at Home. Stand Up to the Tyrant Netanyahu
For years and years, we wondered when the occupation would come home.
It happened this week.
As the settlers once said in a different context: Yesha Zeh Kan – Judea, Samaria and Gaza are here.
One set of laws for the tyrant’s allies. Another set of laws for everyone else. Innocent civilians hounded. Their persecutor – never held accountable.
Raise the black flag. Stand up to the tyrant.
This is the fitting flag for this new Israel.
Netanyahu Is Using Coronavirus to Hold Onto Power
Panic over the coronavirus, justified as it may be, mustn’t blind the public from seeing how the temporary prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and members of his party are exploiting the crisis to hold onto power. Through their management of the coronavirus crisis, Netanyahu and his government are neutralizing the justice system and quarantining the legislature.
‚Total Suspension of Individual Freedom‘: Inside Israel’s Secret Coronavirus Debate
These special means include gathering data about a person’s location via their cellphone and additional technological information using secret tools, and cross-referencing all of the data.
The process identifies all of the contacts coronavirus patients have had and the places they were, whether they are aware of it or not.
Israeli police tries to stop thousands of cars raising black flags on their way to Jerusalem, to protest anti-democratic measures in midst of #Covid_19 outbreak, such as closure of Knesset. When asked ‘why’, this policeman said ‘because!’
Police Arrest Protesters Against ‚Assault on Democracy‘ at Knesset
Protesters said they were angry at anti-democratic measures being taken to fight the coronavirus outbreak, such as this week’s decision to use cyber measures to track the location of people diagnosed with the virus as well as suspected coronavirus patients, in addition to strict restrictions to achieve social distancing, such as barring thousands of people from leaving their homes.
Further, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein dispersed parliament on Wednesday, deepening the paralyzation of Israel’s legislative body, which critics have seen as an attack on the checks and balances within Israel’s democratic institutions.
Blue and White going to court to force Knesset to meet
Blue and White expressed outrage, accusing Edelstein of „trampling Israeli democracy at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s behest.“ The party said it would appeal to the Supreme Court against Edelstein on Thursday to force him to convene the plenum and „end the craziness.“
Netanyahu’s Coronavirus Coup: Israelis’ Basic Rights Are Now on Life Support
We are about to let the government gain absolute control over our lives – and thus know who we are, where we have been, when and with whom and who we speak to and when – without any form of consent or restriction.
Speaker Adjourns Parliament, Israeli President Warns Him Against ‚Undermining Democracy‘
By preventing the formation of the organizing committee, Speaker Yuli Edelstein also hampers the formation of the Knesset oversight committees on the coronavirus crisis
Rivlin warns Edelstein that adjourning the Knesset is ‚undermining Israeli democracy‘
Edelstein has effectively prorogued parliament and with a total coronavirus shutdown expected in Israel any day now, politicians and political commentators have argued that the speaker’s actions have engendered one of Israel’s severest constitutional crises ever.
Edelstein: Still unsure how Knesset inauguration will occur on Monday
(14.03.2020)
„The manner of how the inauguration will take place will be decided after another assessment tomorrow with relevant professionals,“ Edelstein said.
Gantz’s Party Seeks Vote on New Knesset Speaker on Monday
(13.03.2020)
Replacing Edelstein could let Kahol Lavan push through legislation to prevent Netanyahu from forming a government while under indictment
Israel Election: Gantz Speaks to Joint List, Says Will Form Gov’t to Serve Jews and Arabs
Earlier the Kahol Lavan leader met with Lieberman, agreeing that the main goal is to avoid a fourth round of elections ■ Gantz to hold meeting with all four leaders of Joint List faction Tuesday
Israel Election Results: Gantz Vows to Form a Government, Says Voters ‚Want an End to Netanyahu’s Rule‘
Joint List MK and Balad Chairman Mtanes Shehadeh said Saturday following Gantz and Netenyahu’s statements that „the arab community has spoken, they want a change in their position and aim for an end to discrimination and racism. Netanyahu would die to disqualify them but could not, and Gantz would have liked to ignore them but he couldn’t.“
Netanyahu Withdraws Request for Immunity From Prosecution in Corruption Cases
Netanyahu made his decision public after his chief political rival, Kahol Lavan leader Benny Gantz – who met with Trump on Monday but decided to skip the release of the peace plan in order to take part in the immunity debate – was already back in Israel.
Facing loss in parliament, Benjamin Netanyahu withdraws request for immunity from prosecution
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hours before facing a likely defeat in the Israeli parliament, withdrew his request for official immunity from prosecution on corruption charges Tuesday, giving up a controversial gambit to shield himself from legal peril a month before a national election.
Lieberman: Netanyahu Heads to Washington to ‚Flee‘ Immunity Discussions
The Yisrael Beiteinu chairman, who according to recent polls could once again be kingmaker and decide the leader of which political bloc would secure the backing of enough lawmakers to become prime minister after Israel’s March 2 election, added that „Instead of driving two-and-a-half kilometers to the Knesset, he [Netanyahu] prefers to fly 9,500 kilometers to Washington.“
Bashing the premier, Lieberman said: „It’s clear that Netanyahu worked very hard to escape [the immunity discussions], and it would be best if he kisses his immunity goodbye before he brings peace to the Middle East.“
Netanyahu reportedly could boycott Knesset deliberations on his immunity request
The Knesset is set to vote next week on forming the panel that will weigh — and likely reject — Netanyahu’s request, with deliberations scheduled to begin at the end of month.
In Likud, the assumption is that Netanyahu himself will not be present at the hearings and may not even send his lawyers, Channel 12 news reported.
Edelstein: Israeli parliament to hold Netanyahu immunity debate next week
Speaker of the Israeli Parliament Yuli Edelstein announced Sunday that a full debate in the Knesset plenum will be held next week on establishing a key committee that may strip away Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s immunity from prosecution.
Israeli lawmakers approve committee to debate Netanyahu immunity
The lawmakers with Likud and other right-wing parties stormed out of the room amid a heated debate on the legality of the gathering, paving the way to a 16-1 vote overruling a prior vote that granted Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein the power to pick members of the House Committee.
At the start of the gathering, panel chair Avi Nissenkorn (Blue & White party) urged lawmakers to abstain from trying to sabotage the discussion on immunity.
Knesset committee launches Netanyahu’s process
It’s a dry procedural vote — technically an overturning of a previous decision of the Arrangements Committee on December 15 reserving that right to the Knesset speaker — but with dramatic consequences.
Israel’s opposition seeks swift end to Netanyahu immunity bid
The Israeli opposition pushed Sunday for parliament to swiftly address Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s immunity request, potentially speeding up the embattled leader’s appearance in court.
Will the Knesset Speaker Be Loyal to the Country or to the Man Holding It Hostage?
As Knesset Speaker, Yuli Edelstein has the authority to block the Knesset Arrangements Committee from meeting, thereby blocking the convening of the House Committee and preventing it from discussing the immunity request.
This is Edelstein’s most important test as an elected official: Will he be faithful to his position as Knesset speaker, or will he be faithful to the man who has decided to hold the country hostage?
Requesting Immunity, Master Manipulator Netanyahu Gave One of the Worst Performances of His Life
By requesting immunity Netanyahu hopes to postpone all of this until after the March 2 election. But he knows from all the incessant polling he has carried out that this is a hard sell, even among his right-wing base. In recent days, he tried to float his “immunity is a cornerstone of democracy” canard, but it didn’t fly.
Israel: Netanyahu will Immunität
Am 2. März ist eine dritte Parlamentswahl angesetzt. Nach Einschätzung des Politik-Experten Amir Fuchs wird vor einer Regierungsbildung nach der Wahl kein Komitee zustande kommen. Eine Abstimmung über die Immunität könne damit möglicherweise erst im Mai stattfinden.
Netanyahu Announces He Is Requesting Immunity From Prosecution in Three Criminal Cases
According to Israeli law, the Knesset House Committee is to discuss his request and should it be approved, the request will need to pass a vote by the Knesset plenum.
However, since the House Committee has not been appointed since the April general election, and is not expected to be assembled before the upcoming March election, the discussion will only take place in several months. Until the committee makes a decision, an indictment against Netanyahu can’t be handed officially to the court.
Netanyahu expected to seek immunity as Wednesday deadline looms
Israel’s incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s deadline to formally request immunity from Knesset (Israeli parliament) Speaker Yuli Edelstein expires Wednesday night.
It is expected that Netanyahu will opt for protection from prosecution in three corruption cases against him, Hebrew media reported.