Page 30 - Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli PM Netanyahu reverses firing of defense minister amid tension

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday reversed his decision to fire his defense minister over criticism of the government's contentious plan to overhaul the judiciary. In a televised speech, Netanyahu said that Yoav Gallant is staying at his post. I decided to put the differences we had behind us, he said. Gallant remains in his position and we will continue to work together for the security of the citizens of Israel. In a tweet showing himself sitting next to Netanyahu, Gallant wrote: We continue together with full strength, for Israel's security. Netanyahu announced late last month that Gallant was fired. The decision set off a wave of spontaneous mass protests and a general strike that threatened to paralyze the country, forcing the Israeli leader to suspend his divisive plan to overhaul the judicial system. Netanyahu never sent Gallant a formal termination letter. As of Monday, Gallant whose criticism of Netanyahu's planned judicial changes led to his dismissal

Israelis continue to protest legal overhaul despite suspension by Netanyahu

Tens of thousands of Israelis protested on Saturday against a controversial plan to revamp the country's legal system, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's suspension of the changes earlier in the week. The protesters gathered in Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial hub on the Mediterranean, for the 13th weekly demonstration, raising Israeli flags and banners against what they said were plans to weaken the Supreme Court. Several smaller rallies took place in other towns and cities. The protests have been going on since Netanyahu's government, the most right-wing in the country's history, introduced the changes. But on Monday, Netanyahu delayed the overhaul plan that deeply divided the Israelis, saying he wanted to avoid civil war by making time to seek a compromise with political opponents. Protest organizers, however, vowed to keep up the pressure, calling for the plans to be scrapped. The proposal has plunged Israel into its worst domestic crisis in decades. Business leaders, top

Netanyahu supporters block Tel Aviv's main highway to support judicial plan

Thousands of right-wing Israelis on Thursday blocked a main highway in Tel Aviv as they demonstrated in favor of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the country's judicial system. The crowd was much smaller than the hundreds of thousands of people who have taken to the streets in recent months to demonstrate against the plan. But the gathering had the same effect. Protesters honked their car horns and hoisted blue and white Israeli flags crippling traffic along the Ayalon highway, the main north-south thoroughfare running through the coastal city. After especially intense protests, Netanyahu this week froze the plan and began negotiations with his political opponents aimed at finding a compromise plan. But his opponents have vowed to continue their protests as well. The plan would give Netanyahu's parliamentary coalition control over judicial appointments and the power to overturn Supreme Court decisions it opposes. Netanyahu and his allies say the plan is needed

Netanyahu rejects Joe Biden's suggestion to pause judicial overhaul

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rebuffed President Joe Biden's suggestion that the premier walks away from a contentious plan to overhaul the legal system, saying the country makes its own decisions. The exchange was a rare bout of public disagreement between the two close allies and signals building friction between Israel and the U.S. over Netanyahu's judicial changes, which he postponed after massive protests. Asked by reporters late Tuesday what he hopes the premier does with the legislation, Biden replied, I hope he walks away from it. The president added that Netanyahu's government cannot continue down this road" and urged compromise on the plan roiling Israel. The president also stepped around U.S. Ambassador Thomas Nides' suggestion that Netanyahu would soon be invited to the White House, saying, No, not in the near term. Netanyahu replied that Israel is sovereign and makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroa

Israel PM Netanyahu delays judicial reform plan amid general strike

Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to back down on controversial plans to overhaul the country's judiciary on Monday, amid unprecedented nationwide strikes

Israeli govt in chaos as judicial reform plans draw mass protests: Report

Israel faced one of the biggest waves of industrial action seen in years after the nation's largest union federation on Monday, Histadrut union, called for a general strike

Israeli president urges Netanyahu to halt legal overhaul amid protests

Israel's ceremonial president on Monday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to immediately halt a contentious overhaul of the judiciary. Isaac Herzog's plea comes hours after tens of thousands of people burst into the streets around the country in a spontaneous show of anger at Netanyahu's decision to fire his defense minister after he called for a pause to the overhaul. The overhaul has sparked one of Israel's gravest domestic crises, drawing widespread opposition from business leaders, legal officials and even the country's military.

Israel PM Netanyahu fires defence minister, sparks protest across country

Tens of thousands of Israelis poured into the streets of cities across the country on Sunday night in a spontaneous outburst of anger after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly fired his defence minister for challenging the Israeli leader's judicial overhaul plan. Protesters in Tel Aviv blocked a main highway and lit large bonfires, while police scuffled with protesters who gathered outside Netanyahu's private home in Jerusalem. The unrest deepened a monthslong crisis over Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the judiciary, which has sparked mass protests, alarmed business leaders and former security chiefs and drawn concern from the United States and other close allies. Netanyahu's dismissal of defence Minister Yoav Gallant signaled that the prime minister and his allies will barrel ahead this week with the overhaul plan. Gallant had been the first senior member of the ruling Likud party to speak out against it, saying the deep divisions were threatening to weaken the military. But

Israeli governance group asks court to punish PM Netanyahu over legal plan

An Israeli good governance group on Sunday asked the country's Supreme Court to punish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allegedly violating a conflict of interest agreement meant to prevent him from dealing with the country's judiciary while he is on trial for corruption. The request by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel intensifies a brewing showdown between Netanyahu's government and the judiciary, which it is trying to overhaul in a contentious plan that has sparked widespread opposition. The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a fierce opponent of the overhaul, asked the court to force Netanyahu to obey the law and sanction him either with a fine or prison time for not doing so, saying he was not above the law. A prime minister who doesn't obey the court and the provisions of the law is privileged and an anarchist, said Eliad Shraga, the head of the group, echoing language used by Netanyahu and his allies against protesting opponents of the overhaul. The

Israel's minister calls govt to halt judicial reform in jolt to Netanyahu

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has called upon the government to stop the controversial judicial overhaul legislation that has sparked protests across the country, sticking his neck out amid Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence to go ahead with the proposed "reforms". His intervention came as Israelis opposed to the changes held mass rallies across the country for the twelfth week in a row. "The security of the State of Israel is my life's mission. Over the course of my entire adult life, I have dealt with Israel's security day in and day out," Gallant, Netanyahu's close aide, said on Saturday. He said that he still supported the need to revamp the court system, but acknowledged that unprecedented feelings of anger, pain and disappointment have risen within the military over the proposed changes to Israel's balance of power. The revamp includes enabling Parliament to overrule decisions made by the Supreme Court - a move that critics say will undermine the independe

Israeli PM Netanyahu urges military chief to contain reservist protest

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the military's chief of staff on Sunday to contain a wave of protest from within the ranks over a contentious government plan to overhaul the judiciary. Netanyahu's remarks come as Israel is embroiled in a major crisis that has sent tens of thousands of people into the streets protesting every week for the last two months. The divide over Netanyahu's plans to change the legal system has not spared the country's military, its most trusted institution, where many reservists have pledged not to show up for duty under what they see as impending regime change. Starting Sunday, more than 700 elite officers from the Air Force, special forces, and Mossad said they would stop volunteering for duty. The typically taboo talk of refusal to serve in a military that is compulsory for most Jews and is highly respected by the Jewish majority underlines how deeply the overhaul plan has divided Israel. Netanyahu has rejected a compromise plan proposed

SVB bankruptcy created major crisis in tech industry: Israeli PM Netanyahu

Netanyahu said that he's been in touch with senior Israeli tech figures following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the United States

Netanyahu wishes Modi, Indians on Holi; PM greets Israelis on Purim

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday thanked his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu for his wishes on Holi and extended greetings to the people of Israel on Jewish festival of Purim. "Happy Holi to my friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of India!" Netanyahu tweeted. May the vibrant colours of this festival fill your lives with happiness, joy, and prosperity, Netanyahu said. "Wishing you all a colorful and memorable Holi!" he said. Responding to Netanyahu's tweet, Modi said, "Thank you my friend, PM Netanyahu for your special Holi wishes. People all over India mark this festival with great vibrancy." "I also wish you and the people of Israel a happy Purim. Chag Sameach!" he said.

Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu advances judicial changes despite uproar

Israel's government on Monday was pressing ahead with a contentious plan to overhaul the country's legal system, despite an unprecedented uproar that has included mass protests, warnings from military and business leaders and calls for restraint by the United States. Thousands of demonstrators were expected to gather outside the parliament, or Knesset, for a second straight week to rally against the plan as lawmakers prepared to hold an initial vote. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies, a collection of ultra-religious and ultranationalist lawmakers, say the plan is meant to fix a system that has given the courts and government legal advisers too much say in how legislation is crafted and decisions are made. Critics say it will upend the country's system of checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of the prime minister. They also say that Netanyahu, who is on trial for a series of corruption charges, has a conflict of interest. The standoff has plunged Isr

Israelis protest judicial overhaul plans for 7th week in several cities

Tens of thousands of Israelis marched Saturday in several cities against judicial overhaul plans proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. The demonstration took place in the central city of Tel Aviv, part of a weekly protest campaign that has kicked off since Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced the proposed changes in early January. Netanyahu and his supporters, members of the most religious, right-wing government in the country's history, say the changes are needed to rein in a judiciary that wields too much power. But critics, who include large sectors of Israeli society, say the overhauls would weaken Israel's Supreme Court and damage the country's fragile system of democratic checks and balances. They also say that Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, is motivated by a personal grudge against the legal system and has a deep conflict of interest. Netanyahu has said he is a victim of a witch hunt. In Tel Aviv, protesters raised large Israeli fl

Israel PM Netanyahu launches contentious overhaul as thousands protest

Tens of thousands of Israelis on Monday protested outside the parliament building in a show of force against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as his government formally launched its contentious plan to overhaul the country's legal system. The boisterous demonstration outside the Knesset, coupled with a stormy committee vote inside the building, appeared to deepen the divisions over Netanyahu's program. The plan has triggered weeks of mass protests, prompted condemnations from wide swaths of Israeli society and drawn a statement of concern from President Joe Biden. Netanyahu and his allies say the country's unelected judges have too much power and need to be reined in. His opponents say that Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, has a deep conflict of interest. They say his planned overhaul will destroy the country's democratic checks and balances and is a poorly disguised plot to make his criminal case go away. Monday's demonstration was the largest to take place in t

Thousands march in Israel as Netanyahu allies push judicial overhaul

Thousands of Israelis protested outside the country's parliament on Monday ahead of a preliminary vote on a bill that would give politicians greater power over appointing judges, part of a judicial overhaul proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. The committee vote, expected to take place after a stormy session, marked the opening salvo by Netanyahu and his allies in a plan that has divided the country, triggered mass protests and even drawn concern from President Joe Biden. Trainloads of protesters arriving in Jerusalem streamed up escalators in the city's main train station chanting, democracy, cheering and whistling, and waving the national flag. A few hundred others gathered in protest at Jerusalem's Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray. In parliament, opposition lawmakers vocally protested the proposed reform to judge appointments ahead of a committee vote that would send the bill to the full parliament for a vote. During an unruly session, .

Israel's president urges Netanyahu to delay legal overhaul, seek compromise

Israel's president on Sunday appealed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay a contentious plan to overhaul the country's judicial system and instead seek a compromise with his political opponents. President Isaac Herzog issued the appeal in a prime-time nationwide address a day before Netanyahu's coalition is to take its first steps toward implementing the plan in a parliamentary vote. The proposed reforms have triggered mass demonstrations, opposition from wide swaths of Israeli society and even drawn a veiled warning from President Joe Biden. I feel, we all feel, that we are in a moment before a collision, even a violent collision, a barrel of explosives before a blast, Herzog said. Herzog's job is largely ceremonial. But the president is meant to serve as a unifying force and moral compass for a country that is deeply divided. Netanyahu and his supporters say the changes are needed to rein in a judiciary that wields too much power. But his critics say the plan, which .

Israelis protest PM Benjamin Netanyahu's proposed judicial overhaul plans

Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered Saturday for a weekly demonstration against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu government's proposed judicial overhauls, which opponents say threaten Israel's democratic values. The protesters marched at two locations in the central coastal city of Tel Aviv, waving flags and chanting slogans against the justice minister. Doctors fighting for the life of democracy, read a banner raised by a doctor at the Tel Aviv protest. The protest is the fifth against the new government, a coalition of ultra-Orthodox and far-right nationalist parties that took office in December. The government launched proposals to weaken the Supreme Court by giving parliament the power to overturn court decisions with a simple majority vote. It also wants to give parliament control over the appointment of judges and reduce the independence of legal advisers. Smaller protests were reported in several Israeli cities.

Inside the 19-hour meltdown that scuttled Adani Group's $2.5 bn share sale

Adani chose to forgo short-term victory of nailing the follow-on offer to protect his longer-term relationships with marquee investors who otherwise were staring at some embarrassing mark-to-market