Declaring Israel’s prime minister unfit to hold office will become more difficult after the Knesset approved a new law on Thursday as part of a package of laws the ultra-conservative government is considering for a controversial overhaul of the judiciary, according to Reuters and CNN. Thousands took to the streets again on Thursday in protest, blocking highways and intensifying a months-long campaign.

After a night of debate, the deputies adopted the law in the final reading, with 61 votes “for” (out of 120 members of the Knesset) and 47 “against”. The rest abstained or were not present.

Under the law, which can be challenged in court, dismissal requires a three-quarters majority of parliamentarians. In addition, removal of the Prime Minister from office will be possible only on mental or other health grounds, thus reducing the possible influence of the Supreme Court or the Attorney General’s Office. Thus, the Supreme Court makes it impossible to consider “a petition to declare the Prime Minister incapacitated.”

Opponents say Thursday’s law is a way to protect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces a corruption trial that threatens to impeach him. However, the new legal act will significantly reduce this risk for Netanyahu.

The law is part of a package of laws the ultra-conservative government is considering for a controversial overhaul of the judiciary.

“Like thieves in the night”

The opposition has announced that it will challenge the law in the Supreme Court. Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid said it was a “shameful and corrupt devotion” that showed Netanyahu “only cares about himself.”

• “Like thieves in the night, the coalition has just passed ad hoc, shameful and corrupt legislation in response to unsubstantiated impeachment rumours.
• Every Israeli citizen should know that with a few days until Easter, when the cost of living is skyrocketing, Netanyahu is once again only looking out for his own interests,” said Yair Lapid.

The leader of the Labor Party, Member of Parliament Merav Michaeli, also called the law “disgraceful, dishonest, whose sole purpose is to prevent Netanyahu from being sent to prison.”

New protests

For several months, hundreds of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets in protest against a project to overhaul the judicial system.

And on Thursday, thousands of people took to the streets, blocking highways. They marched with flags and placards through the streets of Tel Aviv, blocking traffic in the middle of the working day.

A small group set fire to tires near the seaport, briefly blocking the trucks.

In Jerusalem, crowds gathered along the walls of the Old City, where a huge copy of the country’s declaration of independence was hung.

• “We are fighting together for our lives as the Jewish people in the state that we have been building for 75 years. We are fighting because we feel that what is happening now is tearing us apart and we are asking the government to stop,” said one of the demonstrators, Avidan Friedman.

But Netanyahu’s new far-right government appears to be pushing ahead with controversial plans to overhaul the country’s judiciary by undermining the Supreme Court’s powers.