At Knesset, PM declares: ‘Democracy isn’t in danger, the rule of bureaucrats is in danger’

“Israel has been and will remain a democracy,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells opposition lawmakers at the Knesset, slamming his fist on the podium.

He rails against “bullying,” “incitement,” and “violence against elected officials” as members of the opposition yell and jeer at him.

Netanyahu slams his critics and accuses them of “calling me a ‘traitor’ every hour.”

Netanyahu is in the Knesset for a so-called 40-signatures debate — a plenum discussion that the opposition can call once a month and that the prime minister is legally obliged to attend — on the topic of “rising crime in Arab society and the neglect of citizens’ lives.” However, much of the debate is focused on the government’s recent moves to fire top officials and gain greater control over the judiciary, which have been slammed by critics as anti-democratic.

“Democracy isn’t in danger; the rule of bureaucrats is in danger. The deep state is in danger,” he says, railing against a “small coterie of officials” who he alleges are working against the elected government. “For you, the biggest danger to democracy — is democracy. For you… the bureaucrats will decide. Democracy is first of all the rule of the people.”

He says the people demand that their votes be actualized through government decisions, adding that “in a democracy, balance between the branches of government is necessary.”

“Democracy is the rule of the majority,” he continues, slamming the “anarchy in the streets” and calling on the opposition to “maybe try for once to respect the will of the people.”

The Democrats party MK Gilad Kariv is removed from the plenum.

Addressing the ongoing war against Hamas, Netanyahu says that “the fighting in Gaza continues. The more Hamas persists in its refusal to release our hostages, the more powerful the pressure we will exert. And I say to Hamas: This includes seizing territory, and this includes other things that I will not list here.”