Israel’s prime minister stresses that he will not deviate “not one millimeter” from the plan
BERLIN, 16 March. (DPA/EP) –
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz acknowledged this Thursday that he is following “with great concern” the tensions in Israel due to the judicial reform promoted by the Government, precisely at the end of a meeting in Berlin with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“As partners in democratic values and good friends of Israel, we are following this debate very closely and, I will not hide it, with great concern,” said Scholz, who is confident that Israel “will continue to be a liberal democracy.”
The chancellor trusts that “the last word” has still been said on the proposal of the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, who has proposed an alternative reform to counteract the concern that exists around the current project, which would increase the influence of the Government in the judicial field.
Netanyahu, for his part, has stressed that “Israel is a liberal democracy and will continue to be so”, which means understanding that the independence of the judiciary does not allow it to have excessive powers. Thus, he has called to “correct” the current “imbalance” and has insisted that he will do so with the current labor reform under his arm: “We will not deviate one millimeter.”
Critics of the reform have argued that it is an attack on Israel’s balance of power, as it gives Parliament unusual leverage to overturn judicial decisions.
Thus, it would give the government full control over the appointment of judges, including those to the Supreme Court, and greatly limit the court’s ability to strike down legislation that violates the Constitution, while allowing Parliament to amend laws that it manages to strike down with a majority. simple of 61 of the 120 deputies.
