Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit a political setback this week after members of his coalition rebelled in an important vote related to controversial judicial changes.
The Knesset, which is Israel’s parliament, was set to elect two representatives, one from the government and one from the opposition, to Israel’s nine-member judicial selection committee. But Netanyahu ordered his nationalist religious coalition to vote against all candidates, triggering a new vote within the next 30 days. Four members of the government defied Netanyahu and used their secret ballots to support the opposition candidate, while a second candidate failed to get enough votes. Some say the stalemate has weakened Netanyahu’s grip on power, and angered main opposition leaders, who have now suspended their participation in compromise talks over the judicial overhaul they’d been involved in for six months.
The issue has been met with an unprecedented protest movement and criticism by international allies such as the US, damaging Israel’s economy. Demonstrations are expected to continue this Saturday night for the 24th consecutive week.
