Despite massive protests, judicial reform in Israel continues to progress rapidly. A special parliamentary committee approved a law change on Monday, making it much more difficult to declare a prime minister incompetent.
According to media reports, Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing conservative government plans to accelerate other vital elements of the controversial reform this month.
The draft that the committee approved after heated debate stipulates that a three-quarters majority in parliament is needed to remove a prime minister from office. Moreover, this would only be possible for mental or other health reasons. The measure is intended to prevent the Supreme Court or the Attorney General from interfering with an impeachment. Three more readings are needed in parliament before the amendment takes effect.
A debate and vote on other aspects of judicial reform are scheduled for Tuesday night in parliament. The amendments should enable parliament to overturn Supreme Court decisions by a simple majority. In addition, the Supreme Court’s ability to overturn simple laws is limited.
Massive protests have been against judicial reform for ten weeks, but attempts to reach a compromise have failed.