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Netanyahu to advance partial version of Israel’s judicial overhaul as protests continue

(JTA) — The Israeli government is poised to advance its proposal to weaken the country’s Supreme Court, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had dropped the plan’s most prominent provision.
The renewed legislative effort comes amid continued street protests against the proposed reform, which have taken place at least weekly since the beginning of this year. Widespread demonstrations in March — in addition to other threats of civil disobedience — led to a pause in the advance of the reforms and sparked negotiations between the governing coalition and opposition over the legislation’s content.
Those talks appear to have broken down, and now Netanyahu’s government appears ready to bring some of the bills back to the floor of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. His coalition, which includes far-right parties, holds 64 of the Knesset’s 120 seats.
But according to Netanyahu, the reform will return to the table absent its most contentious provision, which would have allowed a bare majority of lawmakers to override Supreme Court decisions striking down laws. That proposal, known as the override clause, was at the heart of critics’ claims that the judicial overhaul would endanger Israeli democracy by sapping the court of its power. In an interview last week with the Wall Street Journal, Netanyahu said the override clause was “out” of the legislative package.
Instead, lawmakers will focus on passing a law that limits the Supreme Court’s ability to strike down governmental decisions it concludes are “unreasonable.” Earlier this year, the court used that justification to bar Aryeh Deri, a leading haredi Orthodox politician who has been repeatedly convicted of crimes, from being appointed to Netanyahu’s cabinet.
The legislation currently under consideration would reportedly strip the court of the power to strike down the decisions of nationally elected officials due to “unreasonableness.” The doctrine could still be used to strike down decisions of unelected government officials and local officials such as mayors, according to the Israeli publication Ynet.
Netanyahu also pledged to advance a bill changing the makeup of the committee that appoints judges, a key portion of the proposed overhaul. A previous version of that bill would have given the governing coalition full control over judicial appointments, but Netanyahu said the new bill would be more limited.
He did not say anything about a piece of the reforms that passed one hurdle in February but has not advanced since. That legislation would bar the Supreme Court from striking down “basic laws,” Israel’s closest parallel to a constitution, in a move that some observers said could render the broader override clause unneeded.
Netanyahu’s pledges appear to have had limited effect on opponents of the overhaul. Gali Baharav-Miara, the Israeli attorney general, called the proposed “unreasonableness” law “a black hole that will damage democracy.”
Protest organizers said hundreds of thousands of people attended this weekend’s demonstrations, which took place across the country on Saturday night for the 26th week in a row. Protesters also vowed to gather at Ben-Gurion Airport’s bustling third terminal on Monday in protest of the overhaul. Police cautioned protesters against blocking the roads surrounding the airport, which a senior official characterized as a security risk.
Meanwhile, some of his right-wing allies in the government expressed disappointment about Netanyahu’s comments.
“Surrendering to those who burn the Ayalon and call for civil unrest is a victory for violence and a loss for Israel,” tweeted Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, referring to the Tel Aviv highway that has been a locus of protests.
Netanyahu’s statements garnered praise from the Jewish Federations of North America, which said it was “encouraged” by his pledge to drop the override clause. The group had come out against the override legislation earlier this year, and said in a statement on Thursday that “any reforms must leave intact a strong system of checks and balances, which is key to the democratic pillar of protecting minority rights.”
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The post Netanyahu to advance partial version of Israel’s judicial overhaul as protests continue appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.
The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.
They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.
Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.
Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.
The post Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip

Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.
The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.
Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.
He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.
The post Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.
Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.
Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.
Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.
Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.
The post Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors first appeared on Algemeiner.com.