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President Herzog Calls Civil War a Real Threat to Israel. PHOTO/Reuters
TEL AVIV – President Israel Isaac Herzog warned that Israel was at a turning point and stressed he had been engaged in mediation efforts and talking to “thousands of people” for weeks.
“Whoever thinks that civil war what is real, human life, is the line we will not reach, they really don’t know,” Herzog said during a Facebook live video, as quoted by Middle East Monitor, Wednesday (15/3/2023).
“Civil war is a red line,” Herzog said. “I will not let that happen at any cost or in any way,” he continued.
He added that the protests have damaged Israel’s economy, security, society, political relations. And the most important thing is national unity. According to him, all Israelis are looking for a plan that will bring justice and peace.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition recently proposed steps that would change the way judges are appointed by giving the Knesset more oversight and the government more power over the committee that selects them.
The proposal has generated massive protests, which over the weekend were joined by 300,000 people, including officials and military personnel.
The company has also started withdrawing funding from Israel out of fear of what the proposal might lead to if there is no separation between state and judiciary.
Meanwhile, the Secretary of Government, Yossi Fuchs, confirmed on Twitter that the coalition does not support the president’s plans. “The president’s plan is unilateral to the president and has not been approved by any member of the coalition,” Fuchs said.
Israel’s president, whose role is largely ceremonial, has been in talks in recent weeks to broker a compromise between coalition members and those opposed to a judicial change. However, he has yet to confirm that he has support for the plan from legislators.
(esn)
