Tel Aviv Israel
The Sunday Review
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US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin It was as simple as taking a swipe at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to weaken Israel’s judicial System as protesters paralyzed two of Tel Aviv’s main travel arteries on Thursday, intensifying a nationwide movement against the controversial proposals.
The Sunday Review team at People walked towards Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion Airport with their suitcases during the billed event. as You can find more information at “Day of Disruption,” While thousands protested at a separate demonstration held in Tel Aviv,
Demonstrators on foot blocked the Ayalon highway, one of Tel Aviv’s main roads, with some resisting initial police efforts to clear it, a The Sunday Review team saw on Thursday.
Protesters shouted “democracy,” “shame” “Where were you in Huwara?” at Police refers to the Palestinian village of the occupied West Bank, which was subject to violent riots by Jewish settlers almost two weeks ago. The crowd was eventually driven off the road by police on horseback, and cleared it.
Overshadowed by planned protests Austin’s talks with Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, which were delayed for a day at Israeli officials were concerned about the possibility of demonstration disruptions and requested that the location be changed. A change was made by the defense ministry, to move the meeting closer to the airport. airport The Pentagon stated that the protests were a result of these actions.
As demonstrators The people took to the streets. Austin It is important to emphasize the importance of “independent judiciary” Gallant was present at a news conference.
“As President Biden has said, the genius of American democracy and Israeli democracy is that they are both built on strong institutions – on checks and balances, and on an independent judiciary. And the President also noted that building consensus for fundamental changes is really important to ensure that the people buy into them so they can be sustained.”
Opponents to government plans for giving Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, the power to overrule Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority have been protesting every Saturday night across Israel For the last nine weeks. Tel Aviv has seen the largest demonstrations with more than 100,000 people. demonstratorsIn a country of less than nine million people,
A package of legislation could also grant the government authority to nominate judge, which is currently held by a committee that includes judges, lawyers and politicians. It would remove power and independence from government ministries’ legal advisers, and take away the power of the courts to invalidate government appointments.
Plan supporters overhaul According to the judiciary, the Supreme Court is too powerful and not accountable for its decisions.
Netanyahu stated that he met with Austin “focused primarily on our joint efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons,” before boarding a flight to Rome to meet Italy’s prime minister.
Austin He also called on Israelis and Palestinians at his news conference for de-escalation of rising tensions in West Bank in advance of Ramadan and Passover, which were historically hotspots of violence. Austin According to Palestinian leaders, terrorists must be stopped and incitement should not be tolerated. The US has also reacted against the Israeli expansion in the West Bank.
“We’re especially disturbed by violence by settlers against Palestinians,” Austin noted.
Three militants from the West Bank were killed by undercover Israeli Border Police officers on Thursday morning. Austin Border Police reported that the plane had arrived.
Two suspected Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant operatives were being arrested by Israeli security forces. The vehicle fired back at them and they killed the three victims, according to a police statement.
Trois people were injured when a suspect terrorist set fire to their home on Thursday evening at Walking pedestrians along a street at The center of Tel Aviv’s nightlife. Israel According to police Police said that the shooting suspect was “neutralized” Police officers added police, which was then declared dead by an emergency rescue team.