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Jerusalem
CNN
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Israel’s highest court this week ordered the impeachment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu A key allyA dramatic move amid an unprecedented clash between his government and the judiciary.
The High Court ruled 10-1 on Wednesday that it was unconstitutional for Aryeh Deri, the leader of the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox party Shas, to serve as minister. He has been appointed as Home and Health Minister Three weeks before the verdict.
But so far Netanyahu has not taken any action as political tensions rise. Israeli media reported Friday that Deri and Netanyahu are in talks over the situation.
Derry has several convictions on his record, most recently on tax charges. Last year he struck a plea bargain with the court, which saw him serve a suspended sentence after resigning from parliament and vowing not to return to public office.
According to Israeli law, people convicted of crimes cannot serve as ministers. but Netanyahu’s government It passed an amendment to that law earlier this month that essentially created a loophole for the delay.
In Wednesday’s ruling, the justices focused on Netanyahu’s late appointment despite claims he would give up political life as part of a deal for a suspended sentence.
But less than a year after that plea deal, Netanyahu has now been told he must sack Deri – the 11 seats in parliament he needs to hold power.
“It is a dramatic decision. This decision is aimed at the prime minister, not Deri,” said Yaniv Rosnai, associate professor and co-director of the Rubinstein Center for Constitutional Challenges at Richman University in Israel.
Since the ruling, Netanyahu has not reacted much beyond visiting Deri and issuing general words of support. CNN has reached out to his office for further comment.
“When my brother is in trouble – I come to him,” Netanyahu said in a late visit after Wednesday’s verdict.
In a joint statement on the same day, the heads of the coalition parties said Netanyahu’s Likud party Said: “We will work, by any legal means available to us and without delay, to correct the unfair and serious damage that has been done to democratic decisions and the sovereignty of the people.”
Derry apparently vowed to find a way around the regime, declaring: “They will close the door for us, we will enter through the window. They will close the windows for us, we will break the roof.”
But most political and legal experts believe that it is highly unlikely that Netanyahu or Deri will defy the court’s ruling, or that Deri will withdraw his Shas party from Netanyahu’s coalition, a move that would bring down the government.
Yonatan Green, executive director of the Israel Law and Liberty Forum, told reporters at a briefing that he thinks Netanyahu is expected to follow the court’s order in the case, setting the stage for future defiance.
“Each successive case of this type probably brings us a little closer to that particular edge,” Greene said.
And so experts say one possible path forward is for Netanyahu to fire Deri and bulldoze through the judicial reforms the government has already announced.
The Derry regime came amid an ongoing war Anger at the Judiciary. Netanyahu’s justice minister, Yariv Levin, announced a series of judicial reforms in early January that would give parliament (and parties in power) the power to overturn Supreme Court rulings, appoint judges and remove legal advisers from ministries whose legal advice is binding.
If Parliament gets such a power, it could pave the way for a late return. But critics say it could also help Netanyahu to his end Ongoing corruption trial. Netanyahu has repeatedly denied in multiple interviews that the changes will be for his own benefit.
Advocates of reform have long accused the High Court of overreach and elitism. They say the changes will restore balance between the branches of government.
But opponents, including former Prime Minister Yar Lapid and Israel’s Supreme Court President Esther Hayat, say it would undermine Israel’s independent judiciary, weaken checks and balances between the branches and herald the end of Israel’s democracy.
“If Aryeh Deri is not fired, the Israeli government is breaking the law. A government that does not obey the law is an illegal government,” Lapid tweeted.
It was these proposed judicial reforms that brought about 80,000 people into the streets of Tel Aviv in the rain on Saturday to protest the changes.
Organizers hope the protest will spur a movement and increase public pressure on Netanyahu to stop or limit the scope of the proposed reforms.
UAE and India discuss non-oil trade settlement in Rs
The United Arab Emirates is in preliminary talks with India to trade non-oil products in Indian rupees, Reuters quoted the emirate’s foreign trade minister, Thani Al Zayoudi, as saying on Thursday.
- Background: The UAE last year signed a comprehensive free trade agreement with India, which along with China is among the biggest trading partners for Gulf Arab oil and gas producers, most of whose currency is pegged to the US dollar. The bulk of Gulf trade is conducted in US dollars, but countries such as India and China are increasingly looking to pay in local currencies for reasons including lower transaction costs.
- Why it matters: Other countries, including China, have also raised the issue of non-oil trade payments in local currency, the minister said, but talks were not at an advanced stage. President of China in December Visited Saudi Arabia where he attended a Gulf Arab summit and called for oil trading in the yuan as Beijing seeks to establish its currency internationally. The Saudi finance minister said this week that the kingdom would be open to trade in US dollars as well as other currencies.
Turkey’s opposition party has announced its presidential candidate to challenge Erdogan
Turkey’s opposition coalition is set to announce its presidential candidate in February to challenge President Tayyip Erdogan’s 20-year rule in May elections, Reuters quoted an opposition party official as saying on Friday. The six-party coalition is seeking to form a unified platform but no candidate has yet agreed to challenge Erdogan for the presidency.
- Background: Turkey’s two main opposition parties, the secularist CHP and the center-right nationalist IYI party, have aligned themselves with four smaller parties under a platform that would seek to dismantle Erdogan’s executive presidency in favor of the previous parliamentary system.
- Why it matters: Turkey is headed for one of the most consequential elections in the modern republic’s century-long history, and Erdogan indicated Wednesday that presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on May 14, a month ahead of schedule.
The Kuwaiti leader has released jailed critics in an effort to build political solidarity
Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah has pardoned dozens of jailed critics under a new amnesty to end a tense political standoff between the new government and parliament that has stalled financial reforms, Reuters reported. The amnesty pardoned 34 Kuwaitis, most of whom had been convicted of public criticism.
- Background: Kuwait has the region’s most vibrant parliament and tolerates criticism to a degree rare among Gulf Arab states, but the emir has the final say on state affairs and criticizing him is a jailable offence. The cabinet on Tuesday expressed hope that the latest amnesty, which followed the pardoning of dozens of political dissidents in 2021 by acquiescing to opposition demands, would “create an atmosphere of fruitful cooperation”.
- Why it matters: Opposition members made big gains in September elections. Tensions reignited recently when lawmakers pushed the government for a debt relief bill under which the state would buy citizens’ private debt – a measure that past governments have embraced but comes as oil producers seek to push through financial reforms to bolster state financing.
Conservative Gulf Arab states rarely send contestants to international beauty pageants, many of which include segments where women are presented in revealing swimwear.
But a contestant from the tiny Gulf state of Bahrain avoided the ban by attending this year’s Miss Universe in New Orleans in a pink burkini swimsuit that covered her from the neck down, including her arms.
As 24-year-old Evelyn Khalifa walked the catwalk, she flaunted a cape emblazoned with the Bahraini flag and the word “equality” in Arabic. A message in English read: “Arab women should be represented… A Muslim woman can also be Miss Universe.”
The pianist and taekwondo black-belt told the UAE’s The National newspaper that he decided to take part to “break stereotypes”.
“Arab women are kind, passionate and brave and they are ready to take on life’s challenges,” she said. “They can be beauty queens with modesty and shine in modern pageants.”
Lebanon was the only Arab country to send participants. Won the Miss USA pageant.
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