The Israeli parliament
on Monday adopted a bill that would make it harder to unseat Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu over the corruption charges against him, as it moved ahead
with a bigger plan to revamp the country's legal system in defiance of mass
protests.
The plan, which would
allow the parliament to designate a prime minister unable to rule exclusively
for medical or mental grounds, received preliminary support from lawmakers in
the Knesset during a late-night vote on the measure.
Later, the body was
due to vote on a resolution allowing the Knesset to reinstate laws that had
been declared invalid by the Supreme Court. Both proposals must receive more
votes in order to become law.
The actions were the
most recent in a string of reforms to Israel's judicial system undertaken by
Netanyahu's administration. The attempt, according to the prime minister and
his allies, aims to control an activist court. According to critics, the
initiative would undermine the nation's democratic checks and balances and
consolidate power in Netanyahu's and his parliamentary majority's hands.
In spite of demonstrations
by tens of thousands of Israeli demonstrators over the past two months,
Netanyahu and his coalition partners in the ultranationalist and religious
movements have vowed to move forward with the legislation reforms. Israeli
reservists have threatened to stop reporting for duty if the revamp is
approved, and business executives, legal professionals, and retired military
officials have joined the protests.
In a late-night vote,
the Knesset approved a plan that would shield Netanyahu from calls for his
ouster and replace the existing statute that allows for a leader's removal in
other situations. The prime minister would have the authority to veto the new
bill, which would need the support of three-quarters of the government.
Netanyahu, who won
Israel's fifth election in less than four years and returned to power late last
year, attaches personal significance to the initiative. He is facing charges of
fraud, betrayal of trust, and taking bribes; he vigorously contests the
charges. The legal process has been drawn out for almost three years.
Advocates for good
governance and other detractors have urged the nation's attorney general to
declare Netanyahu unfit for office.
Netanyahu attacked the
Israeli media on Monday when addressing members of his Likud party, claiming
they are disseminating a "never-ending tsunami of fake news" against
him. He emphasized that the new legal system will promote Israeli democracy.
Orna Barbivai, a
politician from the opposition, called the legislation "a shame, which
indicates the prime minister is beyond the law."
Due in part to the
persecution they face within Israel as well as Israel's treatment of their
Palestinian brothers and sisters in the West Bank and Gaza, Israel's
20%-of-the-population Palestinian minority has been mostly absent from the
protests.