Opposition leader warns of ‘worrying’ security situation in Israel

Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz has warned of a “worrying” security situation across the Occupied Territories amid a months-long wave of anti-regime protests, sparked by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right administration and its contentious policies.

After a Sunday meeting with Israeli military’s Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Gantz, former minister of war, urged the need to “avoid unilateral moves.”

“The security situation is very worrying and necessitates attention and strategic decisions on various fronts. The prime minister must convene a security cabinet meeting to understand the meaning of the [overhaul] legislation for the army before the bill passes,” Gantz said.

Gantz added that the same is true regarding the need to convene the foreign affairs and military committee. “Tonight’s meeting underlined even more the need to avoid unilateral moves.”

This comes as some 10,000 reservists have said they’ll halt their volunteer duty if Netanyahu’s extremist administration passes the contentious judicial overhaul bill into law.

“We all share a responsibility to stop the deep division, polarization and rift among the people,” the reservists, including 235 fighter pilots, 173 drone operators, and 85 commando soldiers said in a declaration.

The signatories warned that an “unreasonable manner” would erode their agreement to “risk their lives” and “force” them to suspend their voluntary reserve services.

The so-called judicial overhaul scheme seeks to take away the Israeli Supreme Court’s power to overrule the decisions made by the regime’s politicians. It is also aimed at giving the Israeli cabinet a greater say in the process of selecting judges for the court.

On Sunday, tens of thousands of Israeli settlers marched into al-Quds and more protesters took to the streets in Tel Aviv in a last-ditch show of force aimed at blocking the controversial judicial overhaul plan.

Protests have ramped up in the days leading up to the debate that began Sunday ahead of a parliamentary vote on Monday, which could see a key part of the proposals passed into law.

ME