Doctors in Israel have begun a 24-hour strike, and black advertisements have dominated the front pages of newspapers on Tuesday amid rising anger following the far-right government's preliminary approval of judicial amendments that opponents fear threaten judicial independence. The Knesset passed the first law in a stormy session on Monday that restricts the Supreme Court's ability to review government decisions after lawmakers left, asserting that Netanyahu is driving Israel toward absolute rule.
With protests sweeping across Israel for months, thousands took to the streets and clashed with police last night. The United States, Israel's traditional ally, described the vote as "regrettable." A group self-identified as a collective of tech workers published a front-page ad in a major newspaper declaring it "a black day for Israeli democracy."
Protest leaders indicated that an increasing number of reserve soldiers would no longer serve. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hegari acknowledged on Tuesday a rise in requests from reserve forces to cease service, stating to Israeli journalists, as confirmed by a military spokesperson to Reuters, "There is an increase in requests to cease reserve service." Hegari added, "If reserves continue to abstain from service for an extended period, it will harm the military's readiness."
Additionally, the Israeli army took its first internal disciplinary action announced in response to the protests, imposing a fine of 1,000 shekels ($270) on one reserve soldier, and sentencing another to 15 days of probation for ignoring call-up orders. Opposition leader Yair Lapid urged them to stop this threat that has shaken Israel's national security sentiment and to wait for any ruling by the Supreme Court on a petition by a political oversight group to invalidate the law.
The Israeli Medical Association has called for the strike, attributing it to the inability of the Supreme Court to reject potential governmental participation in decisions made by Ministry of Health officials on grounds of "unreasonableness." They noted that the 24-hour strike would not apply in Jerusalem, where confrontations are escalating. The government aims to obtain a court order to compel doctors to return to work.
Israeli experts note that Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is in a predicament, is facing his greatest internal crisis yet. At 73 years old, Netanyahu, who was first elected prime minister in 1996 and is currently in his sixth term, described the amendments as a reform for balancing branches of government. He tried to calm the opposition and Israel's Western allies by stating yesterday that he hopes to achieve consensus on any forthcoming legislation by November.
Complicating Netanyahu’s situation, he is also contending with corruption allegations which he denies, as well as a recent hospitalization for the installation of a heart rhythm regulator, along with the ruling religious-nationalist coalition's expansion of settlement construction in occupied territories that Palestinians seek for statehood. Amid currency depreciation due to foreign investor reluctance and a looming strike threat from the Histadrut labor federation, the finance minister told military radio, "Attempting to portray this as the end of democracy is a false narrative."
He denied opposition accusations that Netanyahu, having dismissed the Supreme Court's interference, would dismiss the attorney general, whom some ministers described as rebellious against the amendments. He stated that the military is "ready to fight and will remain ready" despite the protests from reserve soldiers, whom he accused of attempting to "aim a weapon at the head of the government."
