Archiv: Coup in Israel by Third Netanyahu Government / Supreme Court hearings / ruling delayed / Black Shabbat 07-10-2023 / Court ruling 01-01-2024 Basic Law amendment suspended

04.09.2024 - 11:16 [ New York Times ]

Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan More Than a Year Ago

(November 30, 2023)

The document circulated widely among Israeli military and intelligence leaders, but experts determined that an attack of that scale and ambition was beyond Hamas’s capabilities, according to documents and officials. It is unclear whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or other top political leaders saw the document, as well.

(…)

Last year, shortly after the document was obtained, officials in the Israeli military’s Gaza division, which is responsible for defending the border with Gaza, said that Hamas’s intentions were unclear.

“It is not yet possible to determine whether the plan has been fully accepted and how it will be manifested,” read a military assessment reviewed by The Times.

04.09.2024 - 10:45 [ New York Times ]

Israel Found the Hamas Money Machine Years Ago. Nobody Turned It Off.

(December 16, 2023)

Israeli leaders believed that Hamas was more interested in governing than fighting. By the time the agents discovered the ledgers in 2018, the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was encouraging the government of Qatar to deliver millions of dollars to the Gaza Strip. He gambled that the money would buy stability and peace.

Mr. Levy recalled briefing Mr. Netanyahu personally in 2015 about the Hamas portfolio.

03.09.2024 - 18:21 [ Haaretz ]

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Vile Messiah Leading a Cult of Lies and Death

Despite presiding over numerous failures – including Iran, the economy, the cost of living and October 7 – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still worshipped by over a quarter of Israelis. The gap between his failings and his support has all the attributes of a cult

01.09.2024 - 17:17 [ Times of Israel ]

National labor union announces one-day strike: ‘A deal is more important than anything else’

Histadrut Labor Federation chief Arnon Bar-David announces a general strike set for tomorrow over the failure to release hostages held in Gaza, stating that “a deal is more important than anything else.”

30.08.2024 - 14:50 [ Ynetnews.com ]

Shin Bet chief warns prime minister in July 2023 that war is incoming

The Prime Minister‘s Office denied these allegations, saying: „Prime Minister Netanyahu did not receive a warning about the war in Gaza not on the date in question not before October 7. On the contrary, all security officials made it clear that Hamas is deterred and strives to reach an agreement. Also, a few days before October 7, the Shin Bet assessed that Gaza‘s stability is expected to be maintained for a long time.“
The Shin Bet did not comment on the Prime Minister Office‘s response.

30.08.2024 - 08:38 [ Agenzia Nova ]

Israel, opposition leader accuses Netanyahu: He knew about the threat of October 7 and did nothing

In the weeks that followed, Lapid continued, he viewed classified intelligence provided to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that indicated that deterrence had indeed eroded. He also viewed highly classified material made available to him as a former prime minister. On September 18, 2023, there was “a further warning. For me, what was written there was unmistakable: Israel’s deterrence has eroded dramatically; our enemies think they have a rare opportunity to harm us,” Lapid said.

29.08.2024 - 19:07 [ Times of Israel ]

Netanyahu was warned a year before Oct. 7 that Hamas saw its ‘moment had arrived,’ Lapid tells civilian inquiry

“During the months leading up to the disaster, the prime minister and cabinet ministers received a series of serious, unprecedented warnings. From the middle of 2023 there were more and more voices within the terrorist organizations that said that the moment they had been waiting for had arrived,” he says.

Lapid recalls asking Bar “if these warnings were also brought before the prime minister and cabinet ministers, and the answer was: ‘Of course they were.‘”

29.08.2024 - 18:53 [ Yahoo.com ]

Israeli opposition leader Lapid says Netanyahu was warned about Hamas

„I want to refute the statement that is made time and time again by the current government that, somehow, the political echelon was not aware that Hamas was not deterred,“ Lapid told the paper.

„It was indeed informed. I was informed,“ he said, adding that the intelligence material he saw „was of course, also seen by the prime minister and ministers of the Cabinet.“

„It was clear what they [Hamas] wanted,“ he said.

29.08.2024 - 18:49 [ Hindustan Times ]

Netanyahu Let Hamas’ Oct 7 Attack Happen? Bombshell Claim By Arch Rival Amid 10 Months Of Gaza War

In a heated exchange, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Yair Lapid clashed over the handling of Hamas’ October 7 attack. Lapid accused Netanyahu of ignoring critical warnings that eroded national security, claiming the PM failed to act despite knowing a violent eruption was looming. In response, Netanyahu fired back, accusing Lapid of ‚spreading lies.‘ Watch for more.

08.05.2024 - 22:02 [ Jerusalem Post ]

Histadrut coordinated nationwide strike with PM‘s office – coalition member

(March 30, 2023)

The strike on Monday of Israel‘s largest worker‘s union, the Histadrut Labor Federation, was coordinated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s inner circle, a senior member of the coalition confirmed on Thursday.

10.04.2024 - 16:32 [ Times of Israel ]

Of course Netanyahu should go – in an orderly process that gives our enemies cause for fear

(today)

And therefore, as was the case when he insisted on continuing to run the country while in the midst of a corruption trial, and as was the case when he pressed on with his assault on Israeli democracy and briefly fired that defense minister, so too, now, it falls to a potential few good men and women within his own coalition base to tell him that his presence is harming Israel, that his policies empowered and emboldened Hamas, and that far from being uniquely capable of ensuring Israel has the practical and diplomatic room to destroy Hamas, he is almost uniquely incapable of doing so.

10.04.2024 - 16:30 [ New York Times ]

Netanyahu Must Go

(09.04.2024)

Israel must destroy Hamas as a military and political force in the territory while minimizing harm to civilians. It must do what it can to rescue its hostages without jeopardizing the overriding goal of destroying Hamas. It must, by diplomacy or force, push Hezbollah back from Lebanon’s southern border, so that 60,000 Israelis can return safely to their homes in the north. It must take the battle directly, as it did last week in Damascus, to Hamas’s and Hezbollah’s patrons, whether in Syria, Qatar or Iran.

And for all of that to happen effectively, Benjamin Netanyahu must go.

08.04.2024 - 19:15 [ Times of Israel ]

Netanyahu’s judicial ‘reform’ threatens to bulldoze the Declaration of Independence

(21 February 2023)

Our Declaration of Independence promises that the State of Israel “will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture…”

As of today, those foundational commitments and guarantees are under direct and tangible threat, from the very government charged with upholding them.

08.04.2024 - 00:10 [ Times of Israel ]

Netanyahu plans for Israel to stay in Gaza for 10 years

(06.03.2024)

Israel needs to start getting used to the number 10. That’s the number of years Israel will probably stay in the Gaza Strip, according to the current thinking emanating from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

The estimates are that it will take one or two years for the first stage of the war — eradicating Hamas — to be complete, and another eight years for an alternate government to stabilize, if it does at all.

08.04.2024 - 00:05 [ Times of Israel ]

Gantz: War against Hamas could last an entire generation, hostages must remain top priority

(28.01.2024)

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz tells residents of the evacuated southern communities that the war against Hamas could last “a year, a decade, or even an entire generation,” and acknowledges the urgent need to ensure the release of the hostages still held in Gaza, Channel 12 reports.

31.03.2024 - 19:49 [ Times of Israel ]

Saturday night anti-overhaul protests canceled; Brothers in Arms urges all who are needed to report for duty

7 October 2023, 9:02 am

Organizers of protests against the judicial overhaul scheduled for Saturday night announce the cancellation of the weekly demonstrations.

“We stand with the residents of Israel and give full support to the IDF and the security forces,” the protest organizers say in a statement.

15.03.2024 - 20:45 [ ABC News ]

Schumer calls for new elections in Israel, warns Netanyahu has ‚lost his way‘

(14.03.2024)

„As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7. The world has changed — radically — since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past,“ he said.

„At this critical juncture, I believe a new election is the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel, at a time when so many Israelis have lost their confidence in the vision and direction of their government,“ he said.

(…)

He also called for a two-state solution.

(…)

Schumer also called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to step aside.

10.03.2024 - 18:55 [ Ynetnews.com ]

Dutch pro-Palestinian group demands arrest of Isaac Herzog for ‚war crimes and genocide‘ in Gaza

(07.03.2024)

Ahead of president Isaac Herzog‘s scheduled visit to the Netherlands on Sunday, a local pro-Palestinian organization submitted a request to arrest him for war crimes in Gaza. The Foreign Affairs and Justice ministries are preparing to prevent embarrassment and to ensure that there will be no harm during the visit.

07.03.2024 - 18:42 [ NewArab.com ]

Is Netanyahu prolonging the Gaza war to cling to power?

“In short, the longer he’s embroiled in war, the longer he can put off some kind of domestic political shift,” Zonszein said.

Netanyahu is playing up the challenges of holding elections during wartime and has made dramatic assertions like: “Hamas and Hezbollah want Israel to go to early elections, it would be a victory for them”.

However, the majority of Israelis still believe that Netanyahu’s wartime decision-making is primarily motivated by political interests, according to an opinion poll conducted by the Israeli Channel 13.

14.02.2024 - 12:58 [ BBC News (World) / Twitter ]

They were Israel‘s eyes on the border – but their Hamas warnings went unheard

(15.01.2024)

14.02.2024 - 12:49 [ New York Times ]

Israel Found the Hamas Money Machine Years Ago. Nobody Turned It Off.

(16.12.2023)

Mr. Levy recalled briefing Mr. Netanyahu personally in 2015 about the Hamas portfolio.

14.02.2024 - 12:40 [ New York Times ]

Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan More Than a Year Ago

(30.11.2023)

(…)

“It is not yet possible to determine whether the plan has been fully accepted and how it will be manifested,” read a military assessment reviewed by The Times.

16.01.2024 - 02:00 [ BBC News (World) / Twitter ]

They were Israel‘s eyes on the border – but their Hamas warnings went unheard

05.01.2024 - 16:22 [ New York Times ]

Israel Found the Hamas Money Machine Years Ago. Nobody Turned It Off.

(16.12.2023)

Mr. Levy recalled briefing Mr. Netanyahu personally in 2015 about the Hamas portfolio.

02.01.2024 - 19:52 [ Haaretz ]

Decisive Majority of Israel‘s High Court Justices Declares Netanyahu‘s Judicial Coup Dead

The warnings against a razor-thin vote, which would tear the people apart in a time of war, turned out to be mendacious manipulation. Netanyahu is more interested in the next decision: the law preventing the attorney general from declaring him unfit for office

02.01.2024 - 19:50 [ Tagesschau,de ]

Israels Justizreform gekippt: Der Krieg überlagert den Streit über das historische Urteil

„Die Frage ist, ob dieses Urteil ein Scheitern ist oder der Beweis dafür, dass das System reformiert werden muss“, sagt er. „Dass die Notwendigkeit noch größer ist als bisher angenommen. Wir werden uns aus einem einfachen Grund jetzt nicht damit beschäftigen: Der Feind steht vor unseren Toren. Wer sich jetzt mit der Frage beschäftigt, hat den Bezug zur Realität verloren.“

02.01.2024 - 19:40 [ Washington Post ]

Israel’s high court strikes down Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul law

(01.01.2023)

Monday’s ruling comes at a sensitive moment for Netanyahu, who remains embroiled in a corruption trial and is facing calls for his resignation over his government’s failure to thwart the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas, as well as its handling of the hostage crisis.

01.01.2024 - 20:09 [ Ido Benbaji / Twitter ]

1/After Bibi formed his 6th govt last year, justice minister Levin & coalition partners Ben-Gvir (convicted of support for a terror org) & Smotrich (called for Israel to wipe out a Palestinian town), advanced a series of bills intended to dismantle Israel‘s independent judiciary.

2/Each member of Bibi‘s govt has his own reasons to see the court‘s power diminished. The court will likely end up presiding over Bibi‘s corruption trial, as Bibi plans to appeal any conviction in a lower court, and wants to pack the bench with loyalists as an insurance policy.

…

01.01.2024 - 19:46 [ Tagesschau.de ]

Israel: Oberstes Gericht kippt Kernelement von Justizreform

Die von der Regierung seit ihrer Vereidigung vor einem Jahr massiv vorangetriebene Justizreform hatte die israelische Gesellschaft tief gespalten. Über Monate gingen immer wieder Hunderttausende von Menschen auf die Straße, um dagegen zu protestieren – sie sahen im Vorgehen der Regierung eine Gefahr für Israels Demokratie.

Netanyahus Regierung argumentierte dagegen, das Gericht sei in Israel zu mächtig, man wolle lediglich ein Gleichgewicht wiederherstellen.

01.01.2024 - 18:28 [ i24news.tv ]

Israel: High Court strikes down law repealing the ‚reasonableness standard,‘ a key plank of the govt‘s judicial reform

The reasonableness law, an amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary, prohibits courts, including the High Court, from reviewing government and ministerial decisions using the „reasonableness“ standard. This standard permits the court to annul decisions based on substantive issues with the considerations behind them.

It was passed last year amid furious protests that saw hundreds of thousands Israelis take to rallies in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere across Israel.

01.01.2024 - 18:11 [ Axios.com ]

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

– 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.

– 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.

01.01.2024 - 18:04 [ Times of Israel ]

In historic 1st, High Court strikes down Basic Law amendment, voiding reasonableness law

Twelve of the 15 justices agree the court does have the authority to strike down Basic Laws.

01.01.2024 - 17:33 [ Noga Tarnopolsky נגה טרנופולסקי نوغا ترنوبولسكي / Twitter ]

Strap in, everybody: Israel‘s Supreme Court announces it will issue its ruling on Netanyahu‘s cancellation of the Reasonableness Law at 18:45, in less than an hour.

(38 min ago)

01.01.2024 - 17:15 [ Times of Israel ]

High Court to strike down reasonableness law in ruling tonight, reports say

Hebrew media outlets report that the High Court of Justice will publish its ruling on the government’s “reasonableness law” this evening and that it will strike down the controversial legislation, which is an amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary.

This would be the first time the court strikes down any aspect of one of Israel’s Basic Laws, which have quasi-constitutional status.

01.01.2024 - 17:07 [ Times of Israel ]

Shas set to push law allowing High Court to delay reasonableness ruling

Lawmakers from the Shas coalition party are reportedly seeking to advance a bill that would temporarily extend the time in which High Court justices can publish rulings on petitions, allowing the bench to postpone a decision that is widely expected to strike down a piece of the government’s judicial overhaul.

In an unprecedented leak, a draft ruling published last week previewed the court’s intention to strike down, by an 8-7 vote, a law limiting the court’s ability to reverse government and ministerial decisions based on the doctrine of reasonableness.

31.12.2023 - 17:58 [ El Pais ]

Iran, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, West Bank… Israel says the Gaza war is now being fought on seven fronts

On Tuesday, Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant told the Israeli Parliament’s Defense Committee that the country is fighting on seven fronts and has responded to attacks in six of them thus far. In addition to the Gaza Strip, where nearly 21,000 people have already died, and the West Bank — which Gallant referred to as “Judea and Samaria” and where incursions occur almost daily — the minister said that hostilities have spread to Iran, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. “I’m saying it here explicitly,” Gallant warned during his speech. “Anyone who acts against us as a potential target will not be immune.”

31.12.2023 - 14:16 [ CBS News ]

Israel-Hamas war will go on for „many more months,“ Netanyahu say

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel‘s war on Hamas in Gaza will continue for „many more months,“ pushing back against persistent international cease-fire calls after mounting civilian deaths, hunger and mass displacement in the besieged enclave.

29.12.2023 - 04:55 [ New York Magazine ]

What Israel Lost Before October 7 – The worst year in the country’s history began with Netanyahu’s return to power.

Owing to the massive demonstrations that drew hundreds of thousands of Israelis into the streets, Netanyahu succeeded in passing only one law, aimed at neutering the highest court’s powers of judicial review. After a delay caused by the war, Israel’s supreme court is scheduled to hear petitions against this law in January. The protests “saved Israel,” Peled Nakash said. “We were the nation’s safety net.”

A lieutenant commander in the naval reserves, Peled Nakash was one of hundreds of senior officers who announced they would refuse to serve if Israel ceased to be a democracy — all of whom reported for duty when called after October 7. Her group, Brothers and Sisters in Arms, vociferously denounced Netanyahu for risking Israeli security by dividing society so deeply.

29.12.2023 - 04:12 [ DailyBeast.com ]

Israeli Court Decries ‘Leaks’ of Ruling on Netanyahu’s Legal Overhaul

“The judiciary views very severely the leak of parts of draft rulings that have not been completed,” acting Supreme Court President Uzi Vogelman said of the leak. “The attempt to influence pending proceedings and to harm public trust in the judiciary and its dedicated judges and employees will not succeed.” The final ruling is expected to arrive midway through January.

28.12.2023 - 16:52 [ Times of Israel ]

Bombshell leaked draft ruling shows High Court set to nix key judicial overhaul law

The report drew immediate, heated reactions, with coalition members chastising the expected decision and casting it as undermining the national unity being displayed during the ongoing war against Hamas. The group that petitioned for the law to be nullified claimed the leak was an attempt to intimidate the justices and push them to change their ruling and not void the legislation.

28.12.2023 - 16:41 [ i24news.tv ]

Israeli High Court poised to strike down judicial ‚reasonableness‘ clause

The leaked draft revealed an apparent 8-7 split among the 15-justice panel, indicating eight justices in favor of annulling the law and seven against

28.12.2023 - 16:29 [ Haaretz ]

Report: Israeli High Court Justices Poised to Nullify Key Judicial Coup Law Passed Last Summer

The justices who reportedly support the nullification are: former president Esther Hayut, current care-taker president Uzi Vogelman, Isaac Amit, Anat Baron, Ofer Grosskopf, Chaled Kabub, Daphne Barak-Erez and Ruth Ronnen.

The opponents are reported to be Noam Sohlberg, Yechiel Meir Kasher, Yosef Elron, Alex Stein, Yael Willner, David Mintz and Gila Canfy Steinitz.

28.12.2023 - 16:00 [ JNS.org ]

Israeli High Court prepares to strike down Basic Law

Each judge will now read the opinions of the other justices before a final decision is reached. There is a chance, though slim, that the result will be different if a justice changes his or her mind after reading the other verdicts, Channel 12 reported.

28.12.2023 - 15:38 [ Noga Tarnopolsky נגה טרנופולסקי نوغا ترنوبولسكي / Twitter ]

Netanyahu‘s office responded to the hospitalized soldiers rejecting his visit with a formal statement in which they wrote: „An absolute majority of the fighters are very excited to meet the prime minister.“ (I am not joking.)

28.12.2023 - 12:40 [ New York Times ]

Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan More Than a Year Ago

(30.11.2023)

(…)

“It is not yet possible to determine whether the plan has been fully accepted and how it will be manifested,” read a military assessment reviewed by The Times.

22.12.2023 - 22:42 [ Tali / Twitter ]

Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar-David as photographed last week during a visit to two weapons factories: #Elbit Systems and IAI. On a shell intended for use in bombings in the Gaza Strip he wrote: „The people of Israel live. Greetings from the Histadrut and the workers in Israel

16.12.2023 - 16:00 [ Times of Israel ]

NYT: Israel had blueprint of Hamas’s financial infrastructure in 2018, but didn’t shut it down

However, the report says that even though the documents were shared in Jerusalem and Washington, nothing was done to disrupt the operations.

“Everyone is talking about failures of intelligence on Oct. 7, but no one is talking about the failure to stop the money,” Udi Levy, a former chief of Mossad’s economic warfare division, tells the paper “It’s the money — the money — that allowed this.”

The report says that the funds totaled some $500 million.

Levy says he briefed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2015 about Hamas’s finances.

16.12.2023 - 15:46 [ New York Times ]

Israel Found the Hamas Money Machine Years Ago. Nobody Turned It Off.

Mr. Levy recalled briefing Mr. Netanyahu personally in 2015 about the Hamas portfolio.

15.12.2023 - 11:00 [ MSNBC ]

Rift emerges as U.S. urges Israel to scale down war in Gaza

Journalist Noga Tarnopolsky joins MSNBC‘s Ali Velshi to discuss the “fissures” emerging as the U.S. pushes Israel to transition to a new phase of the war with Hamas amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, both with the U.S. and inside Israel, where Netanyahu is trying to gain support for his reelection and avoid prosecution.

13.12.2023 - 13:56 [ Middle East Eye ]

Israel-Palestine: Gaza and Jenin bombed as Netanyahu braces for ‚possible war‘ with Palestinian Authority

In a recorded statement published on X, Netanyahu said he will not let Israel repeat the “mistake” of the Oslo Accords, and that Gaza will neither be “Hamastan nor Fatahstan”.

Earlier, he was quoted on the Israeli public broadcaster as saying that Israel was preparing for a possible war with the PA in the West Bank.

“It can’t be that after the enormous sacrifice of our citizens and fighters, we will let into Gaza those who teach terror, support terror, finance terror,” he said.

Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior PA and Fatah leader, said Netnayhu’s remarks “confirm his war against all Palestinians”.

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