Israel’s parliament has signed off a key part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial plan to reshape the justice system.
Huge protests have been taking place in recent months, with thousands of military reservists now saying they won’t serve under a government pushing through such changes.
Business leaders and legal officials have also voiced opposition and say it will diminish the courts’ ability to keep government power in check.
Protesters also see it as a power grab by Mr Netanyahu – who’s on trial on corruption charges – and fear it is setting Israel on the path to dictatorship.
Mr Netanyahu and his far-right allies are determined to push ahead, and on Monday politicians approved a measure stopping the Supreme Court blocking some government decisions they deem to be “unreasonable”.
Opposition politicians chanted “shame” and stormed out the chamber in Jerusalem, leaving supporters to approve the change 64 votes to zero.
Justice minister Yariv Levin called it the “first step in an important historic process” of reshaping the influence of unelected judges, but opposition leader Yair Lapid said it meant Israel is “headed for disaster”.
Ahead of the vote, water cannon were again used on demonstrators who blocked the road to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, while some petrol stations and shopping centres closed in protest.
More on Israel
Related Topics:
Image: Protesters blocked streets near the Supreme Court
However, there have also been rallies in support of the prime minister’s plans, such as in central Tel Aviv.
Monday’s vote came soon after Mr Netanyahu, 73, was discharged from hospital after having a pacemaker fitted.
Advertisement
His resolve to see the changes through has drawn concern from the US, a staunch supporter of Israel, with President Joe Biden cautioning against pushing through laws that are causing so much division.
“Given the range of threats and challenges confronting Israel right now, it doesn’t make sense for Israeli leaders to rush this – the focus should be on pulling people together and finding consensus,” Mr Biden told Axios on Sunday.
Image: Mr Netanyahu was at the Knesset for the vote – soon after being discharged from hospital
In televised comments on Monday evening, Mr Netanyahu said he hoped to reach an agreement with the opposition by November and claimed the courts would stay independent.
As well as curbing judges’ power, the plan would also change the way they are selected – with opponents fearing it could mean corruption and improper appointments.
The outcry could also have repercussions for Israel’s powerful military.
Thousands of reservists say they won’t serve because of the plans, forcing military chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi to address the controversy on Sunday.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:29
18 July: Protesters in Israel clash with police
In a letter to soldiers, he said: “If we will not be a strong and cohesive military, if the best do not serve in the IDF, we will no longer be able to exist as a country in the region.”
Mr Netanyahu paused his plan in March after strikes shut down parts of the economy and disrupted flights.
However, after compromise talks failed last month, he said he was pushing on with the overhaul.
A joint statement from the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council said they were “deeply disappointed” that efforts to find a middleground had so far failed.
They said: “Now that the first law has passed, we plead with Israeli leaders to return urgently to dialogue and to prevent the deepening of a constitutional crisis which will do tremendous damage to the very fabric of Israeli society, its regional security and global status.”
A statement from Yachad – the liberal wing of the UK Jewish community – said Monday’s vote was the first step in the government’s plan to give itself “unmitigated powers”.
“The values and principles on which Israel was founded are being eroded by this extremist government – Israel can no longer claim it wishes to be a democracy,” it said.
The Ukrainian president said the meeting ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral could end up being “historic.” Hours later, Mr Trump questioned Vladimir Putin’s appetite for peace in a Truth Social post.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:49
From Saturday: Trump meets Zelenskyy at funeral
Speaking before boarding Air Force One on Sunday, Mr Trump again said the meeting went well, and that the Ukrainianleader was “calmer”.
“I think he understands the picture, I think he wants to make a deal,” he said, before turning to Mr Putin and Russia.
“I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal,” the US president said, adding he was “very disappointed that they did the bombing of those places (including Kyiv, where nine people were killed in a Russian airstrike on Friday) after discussions”.
However, Mr Trump said he thinks Mr Zelenskyy is ready to give up Crimea, which the Ukrainian leader has repeatedly said he would refuse to do.
More on Donald Trump
Related Topics:
He added that “we’ll see what happens in the next few days” and said “don’t talk to me about Crimea, talk to Obama and Biden about Crimea”.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, while Barack Obama was president.
Meanwhile, US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Sky’s US partner network NBC News that a peace deal to end the war was “closer in general than they’ve been any time in the last three years, but it’s still not there”.
“If this was an easy war to end, it would have been ended by someone else a long time ago,” he added on the Meet the Press show.
It comes after North Korea confirmed it had deployed troops to fight for Russia, months after Ukraine and Western officials said its forces were in Europe.
State media outlet KCNA reported North Korean soldiers made an “important contribution” to expelling Ukrainian forces from Russian territory, likely to be the Kursk region.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
KCNA said leader Kim Jong Un made the decision to deploy troops to Russia and notified Moscow, and quoted him as saying: “They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland.”
It also quoted the country’s ruling Workers’ Party as saying the end of the battle to liberate Kursk showed the “highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship” between North Korea and Russia.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:26
From June 2024: Putin drives Kim around in luxury limo during state visit
The North Korean leader promised at the time “full support and solidarity to the Russian government, army and people in carrying out the special military operation in Ukraine”.
At least 40 people have been killed and several hundred more injured after an explosion and fire at Iran’s largest port, according to state media.
The blast, at the Shahid Rajaei container hub near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, happened on Saturday as Iran held a third round of talks with the US in Oman about Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Shipping containers burned, goods inside were badly damaged and the explosion was so powerful that windows several miles away were shattered, reports said.
Image: Iranian Red Crescent rescuers work at the site of the blast. Pic: Reuters
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:26
The blast at the Shahid Rajaei port happened as Iran and the US met for the third round of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Helicopters and aircraft dumped water from the air on the blaze and by Sunday afternoon it was 90% extinguished, the head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society told state media.
Officials said port activities had resumed in unaffected parts of Shahid Rajaei.
Out of the 752 people who had received treatment for their injuries, 190 were still being treated in medical centres on Sunday, according to Iran’s crisis management organisation.
Chemicals at the port were suspected to have worsened the blast, but the exact cause of the explosion was not clear.
More on Iran
Related Topics:
Iran’s defence ministry denied international media reports that the explosion may be connected to the mishandling of solid fuel used for missiles.
The reports were “aligned with enemy psyops [psychological operations]”, according to a ministry spokesperson, who told state TV the blast-hit area did not contain any military cargo.
Image: Firefighters work to extinguish the blaze. Pic: AP
According to the Associated Press, British security company Ambrey said that the port in March received sodium perchlorate, which is used to propel ballistic missiles and the mishandling of which could have led to the explosion.
Follow The World
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The Financial Times previously reported two Iranian vessels had shipped from China enough of the ingredient to propel up to 260 mid-range missiles.
It was reportedly to help Tehran replenish stocks after its missile attacks on Israel in 2024.
Iran’s military has sought to deny the delivery of sodium perchlorate from China.
Iran’s state-run Irna news agency reported on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin deployed several emergency aircraft to Bandar Abbas to provide help.
Anna and Irene have already been queuing for an hour or so, and they know they have a long wait still to come.
“Two hours, three hours, ten hours – what does it matter?” says Irena. “This is about eternity.”
They have come to Rome from Slovenia, Catholics who felt “Papa Francis would have wanted us to be here”.
Image: People take photos of the grave of late Pope Francis inside St. Mary Major Basilica. Pic: AP/Andrew Medichini
Image: A single white rose left on the tomb. Pic: Vatican
And under the sun outside Santa Maria Maggiore, they are awaiting the opportunity to visit his tomb.
Francis, says Irena, “was like a rainbow” who lit up the world. Anna nods along: “We are so happy to be here.”
The Pope’s tomb has become a new source of pilgrimage.
More than 30,000 people came to view it during the first morning after the Pope’s funeral, the queue snaking from the front of the mighty basilica and then up and down across the square at the back.
More on Pope Francis
Related Topics:
Some were curious visitors, others were devout followers – priests and nuns mixing in the queue with tourists and devoted locals.
All of these admired Francis; a very few actually knew him.
Father Alessandro Masseroni is a deacon who came to Rome to train to become a priest. On his phone, he shows me a photo of him and Francis, with the Pope offering words of encouragement.
Image: Father Alessandro Masseroni meeting the Pope
He says: “I had the honour to serve Pope Francis and to talk to him many times and it was a special experience. I understand why he was so loved by all the people – he was simple and direct.
“He was sunny. St Francis was his role model and when I saw the first picture of the Pope’s tomb, the first thing I thought was of the tomb of St Francis of Assisi.
“Pope Francis will leave a legacy – it doesn’t end with his death but will continue.”
Image: People attend the funeral of Pope Francis. Pic: Reuters/Yara Nardi
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:38
Video shows Pope’s tomb
What are your emotions now, as you wait to visit his tomb, I ask. Father Alessandro pauses and smiles.
“Many emotions of course, but mainly, I think… thankfulness.”
That has been a recurring aspect among so many of the people we have met in Rome over the past week – the sense that sadness for Francis’s death is outweighed by the sense that his was a life that should be celebrated.
Volodymyr Borysyak flew in from London on the morning of the Pope’s funeral to make his third pilgrimage to Rome.
Barely had he arrived than his phone was stolen, a crime he responded to by praying for the thief.
Volodymyr is a refugee from western Ukraine who worries that his home country’s plight is being forgotten by some of the world.
Now, the Pope who inspired him has died.
You might imagine that he would be resentful and angry. Instead, he is full of smiles.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
7:51
The farewell to Pope Francis
“We are happy to be the pilgrims of the world and this is a special day,” he tells me. “I know the pope used to pray in this basilica so that is why we will stay so long here to visit Santa Maria Maggiore.
“I think Pope Francis was, is and will be the pope for the world, because of the mercy of his heart and his love for everybody.”