Mass protests erupt after Netanyahu fires defense chief

JERUSALEM — Tens of thousands of Israelis poured into the streets of cities across the country Sunday night in a spontaneous outburst of anger after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly fired his defense 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 Defense 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 as droves of protesters flooded the streets late into the night, Likud ministers began indicating willingness to hit the brakes. Culture Minister Micky Zohar, a Netanyahu confidant, said the party would support him if he decided to pause the judicial overhaul.

Israeli media said leaders in Netanyahu’s coalition were to meet Monday morning. Later in the day, the grassroots protest movement said it would hold another mass demonstration outside the Knesset, or parliament, in Jerusalem.

In a brief statement, Netanyahu’s office said late Sunday the prime minister had dismissed Gallant. Netanyahu later tweeted: “We must all stand strong against refusal.”

Tens of thousands of Israelis poured into the streets in protest after Netanyahu’s announcement, blocking Tel Aviv’s main artery, transforming the Ayalon highway into a sea of blue-and-white Israeli flags and lighting a large bonfire in the middle of the road.

Demonstrations took place in Beersheba, Haifa and Jerusalem, where thousands of people gathered outside Netanyahu’s private residence. Police scuffled with protesters and sprayed the crowd with a water cannon. Thousands then marched from the residence to the Knesset.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks during a joint statement with his U.S. counterpart following a meeting on March 9, 2023, in Lod, Israel. (Maya Alleruzzo/AP)

Inon Aizik, 27, said he came to demonstrate outside Netanyahu’s private residence in central Jerusalem because “bad things are happening in this country.” He called the judicial overhaul “a quick legislative blitz.”

Netanyahu’s decision came less than a day after Gallant, a former senior general, called for a pause in the controversial legislation until after next month’s Independence Day holidays, citing turmoil in the ranks of the military.

Gallant had voiced concerns that the divisions in society were hurting morale in the military and emboldening Israel’s enemies. “I see how the source of our strength is being eroded,” Gallant said.

While several other Likud members had indicated they might follow Gallant, the party quickly closed ranks Sunday, clearing the way for his dismissal.

Galit Distal Atbaryan, Netanyahu’s public diplomacy minister, said Netanyahu summoned Gallant to his office and told him “that he doesn’t have any faith in him anymore and therefore he is fired.”

Gallant tweeted shortly after the announcement that “the security of the state of Israel always was and will always remain my life mission.”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Gallant’s dismissal “harms national security and ignores warnings of all defense officials.”

Israel’s consul general in New York City, Assaf Zamir, resigned in protest.

Avi Dichter, a former chief of the Shin Bet security agency, is expected to replace Gallant. Dichter had reportedly flirted with joining Gallant but instead announced Sunday he was backing the prime minister.

How did we get here?

Netanyahu’s government is pushing ahead for a parliamentary vote this week on a centerpiece of the overhaul — a law that would give the governing coalition the final say over all judicial appointments. It also seeks to pass laws that would would grant parliament the authority to overturn Supreme Court decisions and limit judicial review of laws.

Netanyahu and his allies say the plan will restore a balance between the judicial and executive branches and rein in what they see as an interventionist court with liberal sympathies.

But critics say the laws will remove Israel’s system of checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of the governing coalition. They also say that Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, has a conflict of interest.

An Israeli soldier uses an unmanned surveillance drone to monitor Palestinian stone throwers in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron as Israeli settlers visit a holy site in 2015. (Hazem Bader/AFP via Getty Images)

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets over the past three months to demonstrate against the plan in the largest demonstrations in the country’s 75-year history. The State Department dismissed as “completely false” claims repeated by Yair Netanyahu, the prime minister’s son, that the U.S. government was financing these protests.

Leaders of Israel’s vibrant high-tech industry have said the changes will scare away investors. And former top security officials have spoken out against the plan, while key allies, including the United States and Germany, have voiced concerns.

In recent weeks, discontent has surged from within Israel’s army — the most popular and respected institution among Israel’s Jewish majority. A growing number of Israeli reservists, including fighter pilots, have threatened to withdraw from voluntary duty if the laws are passed.

Israel’s military is facing an increase in fighting in the occupied West Bank, threats from Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group and concerns that archenemy Iran is close to developing a nuclear-weapons capability.

Manuel Trajtenberg, head of an influential Israeli think tank, the Institute for National Security Studies, said that “Netanyahu can dismiss his defense minister, he cannot dismiss the warnings he heard from Gallant.”

Meanwhile, an Israeli good governance group asked the country’s Supreme Court on Sunday to punish 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.

Israeli police use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators blocking a highway during a protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system in Tel Aviv, Israel, on March 27, 2023. (Oren Ziv/AP)

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. It said he was not above the law.

The prime minister said the appeal should be dismissed and said that the Supreme Court didn’t have grounds to intervene.

Netanyahu is barred by the country’s attorney general from directly dealing with his government’s plan to overhaul the judiciary, based on a conflict of interest agreement that the Supreme Court acknowledged in a ruling over Netanyahu’s fitness to serve while on trial for corruption. Instead, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a close confidant of Netanyahu, is spearheading the overhaul.

But on Thursday, after Parliament passed a law making it harder to remove a sitting prime minister, Netanyahu said he was unshackled from the attorney general’s decision and vowed to wade into the crisis and “mend the rift” in the nation. That declaration prompted the attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, to warn that Netanyahu was breaking his conflict of interest agreement.

The fast-paced legal and political developments have catapulted Israel into uncharted territory, said Guy Lurie, a research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank.

“We are at the start of a constitutional crisis in the sense that there is a disagreement over the source of authority and legitimacy of different governing bodies,” he said.

Tia Goldenberg with The Associated Press contributed from Tel Aviv.

耶路撒冷——周日晚间，数万名以色列人涌上全国各地城市的街头，自发地表达了他们的愤怒，此前总理本杰明·内塔尼亚胡突然解雇了国防部长，原因是该部长挑战了以色列领导人的司法改革计划。

在特拉维夫，抗议者封锁了一条主要公路并点燃了大型篝火；而在耶路撒冷，警方与聚集在内塔尼亚胡私人住宅外的抗议者发生了冲突。

这场动乱加剧了内塔尼亚胡改革司法机构计划引发的持续数月的危机，该计划引发了大规模抗议，令商界领袖和前安全部门负责人感到震惊，并引起了美国和其他亲密盟友的关注。

内塔尼亚胡解散国防部长约阿夫·加兰特，表明总理及其盟友本周将全力推进军方改革计划。加兰特是执政党利库德集团中首位公开反对该计划的高级成员，他表示，党内严重分歧正威胁着军队的实力。

但随着大批抗议者深夜涌上街头，利库德集团的部长们开始表示愿意踩刹车。文化部长米基·佐哈尔是内塔尼亚胡的亲信，他表示如果内塔尼亚胡决定暂停司法改革，该党将予以支持。

以色列媒体报道称，内塔尼亚胡执政联盟的领导人将于周一上午举行会议。当天晚些时候，草根抗议运动表示，他们将在耶路撒冷议会大厦（以色列议会所在地）外举行另一场大规模示威活动。

内塔尼亚胡办公室周日晚间发表简短声明称，总理已解雇加兰特。内塔尼亚胡随后在推特上发文：“我们必须坚决反对这种拒绝。”

内塔尼亚胡宣布这一消息后，数万名以色列人涌上街头抗议，他们封锁了特拉维夫的主要干道，将阿亚隆高速公路变成了一片蓝白相间的以色列国旗的海洋，并在路中央点燃了一堆大篝火。

在贝尔谢巴、海法和耶路撒冷等地爆发了示威游行，数千人聚集在内塔尼亚胡的私人住所外。警方与示威者发生冲突，并动用水炮驱散人群。随后，数千人从住所游行至以色列议会大厦。

2023年3月9日，以色列国防部长约阿夫·加兰特在以色列洛德与美国国防部长会晤后发表联合声明。（Maya Alleruzzo/AP）

27岁的伊农·艾兹克表示，他来到耶路撒冷市中心内塔尼亚胡的私人住所外示威，是因为“这个国家正在发生糟糕的事情”。他称司法改革是“一场仓促的立法闪电战”。

内塔尼亚胡做出决定不到一天前，前高级将领加兰特呼吁暂停这项有争议的立法，直到下个月的独立日假期之后，理由是军方内部动荡不安。

加兰特曾表达过担忧，认为社会分裂正在打击军队士气，并助长以色列敌人的气焰。“我看到我们的力量源泉正在被侵蚀，”加兰特说道。

尽管其他几位利库德集团成员曾表示他们可能会追随加兰特，但该党周日迅速团结起来，为他的下台扫清了障碍。

内塔尼亚胡的公共外交部长加利特·迪斯塔尔·阿特巴良表示，内塔尼亚胡召见加兰特到他的办公室，并告诉他“他不再信任他，因此他被解雇了”。

加兰特在宣布这一消息后不久发推文称，“以色列国的安全一直是并将永远是我的毕生使命。”

反对派领导人亚伊尔·拉皮德表示，加兰特的解职“损害了国家安全，无视了所有国防官员的警告”。

以色列驻纽约总领事阿萨夫·扎米尔辞职以示抗议。

前辛贝特安全局局长阿维·迪希特预计将接替加兰特。据报道，迪希特曾一度考虑加入加兰特阵营，但最终在周日宣布支持总理。

我们是怎么走到这一步的？

内塔尼亚胡政府正力推本周议会就改革的核心内容进行投票——一项赋予执政联盟对所有司法任命最终决定权的法律。此外，政府还寻求通过其他法律，赋予议会推翻最高法院裁决的权力，并限制司法审查法律的权力。

内塔尼亚胡及其盟友表示，该计划将恢复司法和行政部门之间的平衡，并遏制他们眼中具有自由主义倾向的干预主义法院。

但批评人士指出，这些法律将破坏以色列的权力制衡机制，并将权力集中在执政联盟手中。他们还表示，正因腐败指控受审的内塔尼亚胡存在利益冲突。

2015年，在被占领的约旦河西岸城市希伯伦，一名以色列士兵使用无人侦察无人机监视巴勒斯坦人投掷石块的行为，当时以色列定居者正在参观圣地。（Hazem Bader/AFP via Getty Images）

过去三个月，数万民众走上街头，抗议这项计划，这是该国75年历史上规模最大的示威活动。美国国务院驳斥了总理之子亚伊尔·内塔尼亚胡关于美国政府资助这些抗议活动的说法，称其“完全是谎言”。

以色列蓬勃发展的高科技产业领袖表示，这些变革将吓跑投资者。一些前高级安全官员也公开反对这项计划，而包括美国和德国在内的主要盟友也表达了担忧。

近几周来，以色列军队内部的不满情绪激增——以色列军队是以色列犹太裔群体中最受欢迎和最受尊敬的机构。越来越多的以色列预备役人员，包括战斗机飞行员，威胁说，如果这些法案获得通过，他们将退出志愿服役。

以色列军队正面临着被占领的西岸地区战斗加剧、黎巴嫩真主党武装组织的威胁，以及对宿敌伊朗即将发展核武器能力的担忧。

以色列颇具影响力的智库——国家安全研究所的负责人曼努埃尔·特拉滕贝格表示，“内塔尼亚胡可以解雇他的国防部长，但他不能忽视加兰特发出的警告。”

与此同时，一个以色列良好治理组织周日向该国最高法院提出申请，要求惩罚内塔尼亚胡，理由是他涉嫌违反了一项利益冲突协议，该协议旨在防止他在因腐败罪受审期间与该国司法机构进行任何接触。

2023年3月27日，以色列特拉维夫，以色列警方使用高压水炮驱散示威者，这些示威者封锁了一条高速公路，抗议总理内塔尼亚胡政府计划改革司法系统。（奥伦·齐夫/美联社）

以色列优质政府运动是此次改革的强烈反对者，该组织要求法院强制内塔尼亚胡遵守法律，并对其不遵守法律的行为处以罚款或监禁。该组织表示，内塔尼亚胡并非凌驾于法律之上。

总理表示，上诉应该被驳回，最高法院没有理由进行干预。

内塔尼亚胡被该国总检察长禁止直接参与其政府的司法改革计划。这一禁令基于一项利益冲突协议，最高法院在一项关于内塔尼亚胡在因腐败案受审期间是否适合担任公职的裁决中也承认了该协议的存在。取而代之的是，内塔尼亚胡的亲信、司法部长亚里夫·莱文正在主导这项改革。

但周四，在议会通过一项旨在加大罢免在任总理难度的法律后，内塔尼亚胡表示他已摆脱总检察长决定的束缚，并誓言要介入危机，弥合国家裂痕。这一声明促使总检察长加利·巴哈拉夫-米亚拉警告称，内塔尼亚胡违反了利益冲突协议。

耶路撒冷智库以色列民主研究所的研究员盖伊·卢里表示，快速发展的法律和政治局势已将以色列推入未知领域。

他说：“我们正处于宪政危机的开端，因为对于不同执政机构的权力来源和合法性存在分歧。”

美联社记者蒂娅·戈尔登伯格从特拉维夫报道。