From protests in Israel due to judicial amendments
The Middle East
Announcement of 100 pilots in the Israeli Air Force to stop serving in protest against the judicial amendments
Posted on: July 18, 2023: 12:40 PM GST Last updated: July 18, 2023: 09:42 PM GST
Israeli media reported that the police had arrested 28 demonstrators against the judicial amendments since this morning, while US President Joe Biden met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Washington in a meeting in which they discussed the judicial amendments in Israel, which sparked a wave of protests, as thousands of demonstrators took to the streets, and 100 people announced An Israeli Air Force pilot stops serving in protest of the judicial amendments.
Biden assured his Israeli counterpart of his firm commitment to his country’s security, noting that his administration had made great efforts to resolve the conflict between Israel and Lebanon.
In addition, the head of the Israeli National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, confirmed US President Joe Biden’s invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the White House in September.
and broke out series of demonstrations In Israel, today, Tuesday, in rejection of the plans of the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to carry out judicial amendments, which the opposition says aim to weaken the judiciary and reduce the powers of the Supreme Court.
Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath correspondent stated that the demonstrators surrounded the Israeli Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, noting that the Israeli police had arrested 17 demonstrators since this morning.
Arab sources inside Israel told the Arab World News Agency (AWP) that the demonstrations began at seven in the morning local time in separate parts of Israel.
Eyewitnesses monitored hundreds of demonstrators in Haifa, who blocked main roads, while more than 200 women participated in a protest in front of a court in the city.
Local media reported that the demonstrators aim to paralyze movement in Israel today and block major streets, as part of a major day of protest previously announced by the opposition.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, the demonstrators blocked the coastal road in both directions, and roamed the streets of Tel Aviv until they reached the stock exchange building.
Protest leaders in Israel say the planned changes to the judiciary are aimed at enabling Netanyahu to escape corruption trials and weakening the role of the Supreme Court and democracy in Israel.
The Kaplan Force movement, set up by the opposition to manage the protests, said Tuesday’s demonstrations would also try to disrupt work at five central train stations in Israel.
In a statement issued on Monday evening, the movement accused the Netanyahu government of having “deviated from its path and rushed to dismantle democracy.”
Netanyahu to Biden: We will freeze settlement construction until next year
In another context, the newspaper (The Times of Israel) quoted the Israeli Walla website as saying that US President Joe Biden urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a phone call, to stop building settlements in the West Bank.
The newspaper reported that Netanyahu told Biden that no further settlement construction in the West Bank would be authorized until next year.
And the site quoted an American official familiar with what took place in the conversation as saying that Netanyahu was very clear with Biden about the lack of room for maneuver with his hard-line partners in the government coalition, in this regard.
Axios had recently quoted two US officials as saying that Israel had rejected pressure from the Biden administration not to move forward with plans to accelerate settlement activity and build new settlement units in the West Bank.
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2023-07-18 16:19:49
