The bill that weakens the Supreme Court passes first reading, alongside a bill that would protect the prime minister from impeachment and another that would allow more settlements in northern Israel.
Israel’s parliament has introduced a bill that would allow it to overturn Supreme Court rulings and enact laws that have been struck down, despite months of protests against her.
The Knesset took until the early hours of Tuesday morning to pass the first reading of the bill, which was one of main priorities of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his governing coalition of far-right and ultra-Orthodox religious parties.
Late Monday night, in another Netanyahu victory, parliament also introduced a bill that would make it harder to impeach the prime minister over the corruption charges he still faces.
The bill would allow parliament to declare a prime minister unfit to govern solely for physical or mental reasons and would replace the current law which opens the door to impeachment of a leader in other circumstances.
Another bill passed the first reading would allow more settlements in the northern occupied West Bank, leading to the legalization of settlement outposts considered illegal even under Israeli law.
The vote comes just weeks after Israeli settlers ransacked a Palestinian town last monthkilling a man and burning dozens of homes and cars.
Settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are already considered illegal under international law.
Bills passed overnight require additional votes before they are enshrined in law.
The moves were the latest in a series of steps taken by Netanyahu’s coalition to change Israel’s legal system.
The prime minister and his allies say the effort is aimed at containing a militant court.
Critics say the campaign would upset the country’s checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of Netanyahu and his parliamentary majority.
Netanyahu and his allies in the ultra-nationalist, religious coalition have pledged to press ahead with legal changes despite demonstrations by tens of thousands of Israeli protesters over the past two months.
Business leaders, legal experts and retired military leaders have joined the protests, and Israeli reservists have threatened to stop showing up for work if the change is passed.
The new bill would require the approval of three quarters of the government and could be canceled by the prime minister.
The proposed change to the rules governing the impeachment of a prime minister is of personal significance to Netanyahu, who returned to power late last year after Israel’s fifth election in less than four years.
He is on trial for fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes, and denies the allegations.
The proceedings have been dragging on for almost three years.
Good governance groups and other critics have called on the country’s attorney general to declare Netanyahu unfit for office.
Speaking to members of his Likud party on Monday, Netanyahu lambasted the Israeli media, saying they were spreading an “endless tsunami of fake news” against him.
He reiterated his assertion that the legal changes will strengthen Israeli democracy.
Opposition MP Orna Barbivai said the bill was “a disgrace, who says the prime minister is above the law”.
Palestinian citizens of Israel, who make up around 20% of the population, have been largely absent from the protests, in part because they suffer discrimination in Israel and because of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the blocked Gaza Strip.
At least 70 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis this year under the new Israeli government, many of them in Israeli military raids.
This brings the total number of Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank over the past year to more than 220.
More than 40 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in attacks by Palestinians during the same period.
