The Times of Israel liveblogged Saturday’s events as they unfolded.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir commends the fact that tonight’s mass protest in Tel Aviv against the government’s judicial overhaul didn’t include the blocking of the city’s Ayalon Highway, as has commonly happened following similar rallies over the past six months.
“Ayalon wasn’t blocked. Heads weren’t broken. Bones weren’t shattered. And the treaty between the police and Israeli citizens wasn’t broken. When there’s a will, it’s possible to protest in a legitimate, dignified way,” Ben Gvir tweets.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has reportedly sounded the alarm against a bill that would grant far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir the ability to order criminal suspects detained indefinitely without trial, among other expanded powers, slamming the legislation as a potential security threat.
“We are convinced that without a rich security context for the use of the tool, the proposal could lead to the undermining of public and judicial legitimacy to the very existence of these tools, and to the expansion of international criticism on the matter,” Gallant has told Justice Minister Yariv Levin, according to Channel 12 news.
“Undermining the legitimacy for these tools may directly cause harm to national security,” he reportedly added.
Administrative detention is a controversial practice whereby suspects are temporarily jailed without charge, trial, or guaranteed access to evidence against them, for renewable increments of up to six months. Currently, a tool reserved for the defense minister to hold terror suspects, there are about 1,000 Palestinians and a small number of Israeli Jews currently in custody through administrative detention.
The bill, which Ben Gvir has said is aimed at countering a wave of violent crime in Arab communities, has been slammed by the State Attorney’s Office as a “threat to democracy” and is said to be opposed by the Shin Bet.
The bill is set to be discussed tomorrow at the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, with the high-level government panel having delayed issuing its stance on it for three consecutive weeks.
Protesters against the government’s plan to overhaul the judiciary are disrupting traffic near Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Center, on King George Street, Hebrew media reports.
The development comes after the main rally at the city’s Kaplan Street, where an estimated 150,000 demonstrators attended, with some proceeding to match through the city’s streets.
The United States has reportedly toughened its stance toward Israel in talks for a potential visa waiver agreement that would allow Israelis to travel to the US without a visa.
According to Channel 12 news, as part of the long-held talks, Washington has previously demanded that the criminal record of 1,000 visa waiver applicants be randomly selected and sent to American authorities, with Israel agreeing.
But a few weeks, ago, the unsourced report says, the US updated this demand to many thousands or even tens of thousands of applicants, with National Security Ministry Itamar Ben Gvir asking for clarifications on what the criminal records will be used for.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev has asked ministry professionals to start working on a law bill that would prevent mass protests at Ben Gurion Airport, Channel 13 news reports.
According to the unsourced report, one of the options Regev asked to check is mandating those entering the airport to show a valid flight ticket, and she may even aim for a law stating that the airport isn’t a public space.
Some mass protests against the government’s judicial overhaul plan have recently taken place at the country’s only international airport, causing chaos and some flight delays.
Over 150,000 people are protesting in Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street, the main rally against the government’s judicial overhaul plan, according to an estimation by the Crowd Solutions firm cited by Channel 13 news.
An estimated tens of thousands are demonstrating elsewhere around the country.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will stay overnight at Sheba Medical Center following his hospitalization for apparent dehydration, the Prime Minister’s Office says.
The statement says that at the recommendation of his doctors, Netanyahu will stay for medical observation.
Tomorrow morning’s weekly cabinet meeting will be postponed to Monday.
Several media outlets report that he’s in the cardiology department.
Meanwhile, media outlets report apparent footage from Netanyahu’s vacation yesterday near the Sea of Galilee amid a heatwave, after which he complained of dizziness and was hospitalized.
הבילוי של נתניהו בכנרת כלל ביקור במסעדת הדקס ושייט.
(יש לי לא מעט מה לומר על התפריט במקום אבל יוצא לקפלן אז בהמשך) pic.twitter.com/WEVcJ0ecq6
— יהודה שלזינגר (@judash0) July 15, 2023
The Foreign Ministry announces that it has successfully established contact with all Israelis in India who were missing after devastating flooding from monsoon rains killed dozens in the country.
According to a ministry statement, officials have reached the last of the missing Israelis with the assistance of a helicopter rented by the embassy, flying between popular hiking destinations in northern India. In an update yesterday, the ministry reported 38 Israelis were still out contact.
There are currently no indications that any Israelis have been hurt in the floods, which have killed over 100 people. Torrential rain has also closed schools, submerged roads and swept away houses and bridges.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid speaks at an anti-judicial overhaul protest in the central city of Hod Hasharon, as the coalition pushes ahead with plans to pass the “reasonableness” bill, aimed at preventing courts from invalidating or even discussing government and ministers’ decisions based on their “reasonableness.”
“If the reasonableness cause is annulled, all the fences will be breached, all boundaries will be crossed. We need the reasonableness clause, because we have an unreasonable government. We need it because the court is our last line of defense,” Lapid says.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu releases a video statement from the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, where he is currently hospitalized due to apparent dehydration.
“Yesterday I was with my wife at the Sea of Galilee, in the sun, without a hat, without water… not a good idea,” Netanyahu says.
“I first of all want to thank all of you for your concern, and to thank the excellent medical teams here at Sheba who checked me. Thank God I feel very good,” he says.
“But I have one request from you, we are in the midst of a heatwave, so I ask of you, spend less time in the sun, drink more water, and may we all have a good week,” Netanyahu adds.
נתניהו בסרטון מביה"ח: "מרגיש טוב מאוד, מודה לכולם על הדאגה" | צפוhttps://t.co/1E64jCoI30 pic.twitter.com/38tJzZ44Sv
— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) July 15, 2023
The prime minister has not yet been released from the hospital.
Television footage shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Avner leaving the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, where the premier is hospitalized due to apparent dehydration.
Earlier, Hebrew-language media reports said Netanyahu’s wife Sara and son Avner had joined him at the hospital.
Avner appears to be smiling as he gets into his car.
אבנר נתניהו יצא מחויך מביה"ח: ההערכה היא שרה"מ התייבש. לכל הפרטים >>> https://t.co/00grWK2254 @yonatanraveh11 pic.twitter.com/ioBAtbURql
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) July 15, 2023
Demonstrators are gathering across the country for the 28th weekend of protests against the government’s judicial shakeup, and as the temperature rises on the national conflict over the effort to curb the powers of the justice system.
Anti-government opposition has stepped up in recent weeks as the coalition pushes ahead with plans to pass the “reasonableness” bill, aimed at preventing courts from invalidating or even discussing government and ministers’ decisions based on their “reasonableness.”
It intends to pass the bill into law by month’s end.
Tonight’s events are a prelude to Tuesday, when demonstrators are planning nationwide protests and disruptions as they vow to fight the legislation with every tool at their disposal.
החלה ההפגנה בערד pic.twitter.com/GbBZmN4nOT
— Nati Yefet (@ntiyft) July 15, 2023
כרכור עכשיו. מתחילים. pic.twitter.com/BOmqwnZH5E
— שקמה ברסלר Shikma Bressler (@ShikmaBressler) July 15, 2023
Former prime minister Ehud Barak, who is involved in the anti-judicial overhaul protests, sends Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu well wishes but vows that tonight’s rallies will be held regardless.
“I wish the prime minister a speedy recovery… the protest will continue tonight. When he returns, the fight will continue… but for now, we wish you a speedy recovery,” Barak says on Twitter.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party says the premier, hospitalized earlier today, is likely dehydrated.
“The prime minister spent hours [in the] heat yesterday at the Sea of Galilee,” a statement says.
“Today, he complained of mild dizziness and per the recommendation of his personal physician, Dr. Zvi Berkowitz, he came to the Sheba Medical Center emergency room,” the statement continues.
“The initial tests came out normal and no findings were found. The initial assessment is dehydration,” it says.
“Per the recommendation of the doctors, the prime minister continues to undergo additional routine tests,” the statement adds.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid sends Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu best wishes after the premier was taken to hospital earlier after feeling unwell.
“I wish Prime Minister Netanyahu a complete recovery and good health. Feel better,” Lapid says on Twitter.
According to Channel 12 news, Netanyahu’s wife Sara and son Avner are by his side at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan.
Right-wing activists, supporters of the government’s plans to overhaul the judiciary, are blocking the exit to a northern town, in an attempt to prevent one of the main leaders of the protest movement against the overhaul to attend a weekly demonstration in Tel Aviv.
Shikma Bressler is slated to speak tonight at the protest on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv.
A reporter for the Walla news site publishes footage showing right-wing activists blocking the entrance and exit of Beit She’arim, east of Haifa, where Bressler lives.
תומכי המהפכה המשפטית חוסמים את היציאה מבית שערים, שם גרה שקמה ברסלר, במטרה למנוע ממנה להגיע לקפלן pic.twitter.com/RiRop4ftI4
— אורי סלע Uri Sela (@uri_sela) July 15, 2023
Bressler, however, tweets that she is already on her way to Tel Aviv, following a stop at a protest at the Karkur Junction.
עוד רגע בכרכור. בואו. ואז לקפלן pic.twitter.com/yn8F5oi2NN
— שקמה ברסלר Shikma Bressler (@ShikmaBressler) July 15, 2023
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
