Anti-goverment Protests in Israel

with various far-right parties in order to regain a majority in the Knesset. Many le -wing parties su ered losses. e parties involved with Likud’s right-wing bloc are Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) and Religious Zionist Party, which are led by gureheads such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Yoel Smotrich. Both have expressed intensely bigoted, anti-Palestinian views.

Newly appointed Minister of National Security Ben-Gvir has previously expressed anti-Arab sentiments, saying, ‘Arab citizens of Israel who were not loyal to Israel must be expelled.’ Meanwhile, Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, has said, in response to Arab Israeli lawmakers, ‘You’re here by mistake, it’s a mistake that Ben-Gurion didn’t nish the job and didn’t throw you out in 1948.’ Ben-Gvir was recently implicated in a provocation at Temple Mount, where the al-Aqsa Mosque is located. Many critics have accused him of further in aming tensions. e Jordanian Foreign Ministry stated in a recent statement, ‘Jordan condemns in the severest of terms the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and violation of its sanctity.’ by the judiciary. As a result, protests have erupted across Israel, and huge crowds gathered in Tel Aviv to protest the proposed reforms to reduce the Supreme Court’s powers. ese reforms come in the midst of Netanyahu’s ongoing trial over corruption and fraud - something he strongly denies. Some fear this judicial reform would scrap the trial. e government has stated that it wouldn’t interfere, while others worry that these reforms would allow for the government to directly control judicial selection and eliminate ministry legal advisers appointed by the attorney general. Justice Minister Yariv Levin has said that ‘unelected judges have too much power.’ e previous Israeli government was characterised by various anti-Netanyahu factions such as Yesh Atid, Labour, and Blue and White, all of whom sought to oust Benjamin Netanyahu from o ce. is alliance was not without its problems, as inner political turmoil caused the Bennett–Lapid government to collapse. Israel has been marred by government instability for the past few years. Five snap elections were held in 2019 alone, contributing to the rise of Yair Lapid and Na ali Bennett, who largely served as an alternative to Likud and Netanyahu.

However, the anti-Netanyahu coalition collapsed, and Yair Lapid was forced to dissolve parliament as political di erences between the various anti-Bibi factions became untenable. is outcome ultimately led to a fresh set of elections that were held in November of last year.

As a result, Netanyahu came back to o ce, partnering

Many other nations, such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Turkey, had also condemned the visit for similar reasons. In Israel, Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef criticised Ben Gvir for the visit, ‘As a minister representing the government of Israel you should be acting according to Chief Rabbinate instructions, which have long forbidden visiting the Temple Mount,’ writing in a letter to Ben Gvir. However, the Prime Minister’s O ce maintained that they would be ‘strictly protecting the status quo on the Temple Mount without any change.’ e statement also said that Israel ‘will not surrender to Hamas directives.’ It is not uncommon for MKs to have visited the Temple Mount in the past, including former public security minister Gilad Erdan.

However, the lurch to the far right has been characterised by democratic backsliding. Justice Minister Yariv Levin newly announced plans to overhaul the Supreme Court system, which would allow rulings to be annulled by a majority in the Knesset. ese changes would enable the Israeli government to pass legislation without it being impeded