25 May 2019

Israel protests Netanyahu’s immunity from prosecution and limit Supreme Court

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv on 25 May to protests legislative steps that could grant PM Benjamin Netanyahu immunity from prosecution and limit the power of the country’s Supreme Court. The demonstrations showed “nearly all opposition parties, a rare show of unity of Israel’s complex political system”, reported Reuters. Netanyahu has been called out for being a suspect in three corruption cases and has been threatened by Israel’s attorney general to being charged with fraud and bribery. While the PM has denied any wrongdoing, his allies in his Likud party have pledged to seek parliamentary immunity from prosecution for him while he is in office. They have also been advocating legislation that would annul any Supreme Court ruling revoking immunity. PM Netanyahu has also expressed a will to change the Supreme Court “in order to restore balance between Israel’s executive, legislative and judiciary branches”, which was described by the opposition as a threat to Israel’s democracy.

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