Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warns of civil war

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made a statement to the British Channel 4 regarding the controversial judicial reform passed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in the Parliament. Known for supporting the ongoing protest demonstrations against the law that would remove the Supreme Court's oversight on the executive since January, Olmert said, 'This is an extremely serious threat. We are heading towards a civil war.' Despite the possibilities of jeopardizing the country's stability and the government's governance abilities, Olmert used the term 'civil disobedience' and stated, 'The government has decided to threaten the foundations of Israel's democracy, and this is something we cannot accept or tolerate.' The 'judicial reform' announced by the Minister of Justice of Israel Yariv Levin on January 5 includes various bills aimed at limiting the powers of the Supreme Court and granting the executive more influence in judicial appointments. Prime Minister Netanyahu had announced on March 27 that he would postpone the judicial reform, which had caused widespread mass protests and strikes across the country. However, after passing the 2023-2024 budget at the end of May, the government stated that they would reintroduce the judicial reform. Following the deadlock in negotiations with the opposition, the government recently resumed efforts to push forward the judicial reform. Despite political and social opposition, the bill to abolish the Supreme Court's oversight on the government was passed in the Parliament today as part of the controversial judicial reform. More than 10,000 reserve soldiers in Israel had announced that they would resign from voluntary army service to protest the government's judicial reform. Numerous figures in Israeli politics, the military, security, economy, and judiciary have also expressed their opposition to the government's judicial reform. Protests against the Netanyahu government's judicial reform have been ongoing in Israel for 7 months.