Knesset approves bill reducing the powers of the judiciary in first reading

The Israeli Knesset approved the first reading of the reasonableness bill, which prevents the Supreme Court from dealing with decisions made by elected officials.

The Knesset said in a statement that 64 deputies voted in favour of the law, while 56 of the 120 Knesset members opposed it.

However, the bill, which is part of the controversial “judicial reform” plan, must still be voted on in a second and third reading before it becomes law.

It was not immediately determined when the next readings would take place.

The Israeli government insisted on presenting the draft law to a vote despite protesters storming the building and trying to block the entry of members of the Knesset.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid, chairman of the Yesh Atid Party, said in a tweet: “Like thieves in the night, the government has now approved the abolition of reasonableness and has proven that nothing matters to it except anti-democratic corruption laws.”

“The fight is not over. We will not abandon the values of the State of Israel. Millions of Israelis will take to the streets, carrying the Israeli flag, to say: We will not surrender.”

READ: Protesters storm Knesset ahead of vote on judicial overhaul package

For her part, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Merav Michaeli, said: “The coup government carried out an attack on Israeli democracy tonight, lying to the public and trampling on democracy.”

She added in a tweet: “Israel will not be a dictatorship – democracy will triumph.”

Meanwhile, the leader of the National Unity party, former Defence Minister Benny Gantz, announced that the “struggle continues.”

In turn, the leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu Party, Avigdor Lieberman, described the bill as “unreasonable and seriously harms democracy.” He added that the law, if passed, “will form the basis for the possibility of dismissing the legal adviser to the government, including the conversion of all public servants into personal servants of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his family.”