This week several politicians such as former Prime Minister Yair Lapid and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz raised their voices against the Benjamin Netanyahu administration, especially for promoting a controversial judicial reform.

The project includes the so-called “annulment clause”, which would allow the Knesset (Parliament) to re-legislate laws annulled by the Supreme Court of Justice. Several conservative measures and others adopted against the Palestinians add to this, which Lapid considered counterproductive because they could provoke a new Intifada (“uprising”, in Arabic).

Lapid denounced the reforms as “a threat to Israeli democracy” and promised a fight in the streets in what he called “a war for our country,” while Gantz warned that Israel is headed to a civil war.

Given the situation, Gantz called for demonstrations “to make Israel tremble.” In response, the Minister of National Security, the far-right Itamar Ben Gvir, ordered the police to detain protesters who may block streets or highways.

Tzvika Fogel, a parliamentarian from the ruling Likud party, called for the arrest, under the charges of treason, of Lapid, Gantz, Moshe Ya´lon, former Army Chief of Staff and also Yair Golan, ex-military officer .

“These four must be arrested. They are the most dangerous people out there right now (because) they are talking about civil war,” Fogel said. Netanyahu, however, publicly rejected such a request, although he warned that such statements “are a call to sedition.”

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