Israel’s Knesset adopts first judicial overhaul bill despite US warnings

Rina Bassist

Jul 24, 2023

Israeli security forces use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators blocking the entrance of the Knesset. — Israeli security forces use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators blocking the entrance of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem on July 24, 2023, amid a monthslong wave of protests against the government's planned judicial overhaul. Israeli lawmakers on July 24 prepared for a final vote on a major component of the hard-right government's controversial judicial reforms even as US President Joe Biden called for postponing the "divisive" bill that has triggered mass protests. — HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images

Israel's Knesset on Monday afternoon adopted the first element of the government's controversial judicial overhaul plan, after hours of debates since Sunday morning.

The first element, called the "Reasonableness Clause," will prevent Supreme Court oversight over government decisions, including the nomination of ministers and other senior positions.

Narrow majority

The Knesset vote took place despite protests across the country throughout the weekend, including thousands of people who marched by foot for two days from Kibbutz Nahshon to Jerusalem, nearly 30 kilometers (19 miles) away. Talks mediated by President Isaac Herzog up until the second and third decisive Knesset readings failed to reach a compromise.