Supreme Court Strikes Down Key Component of Netanyahu’s Judicial Overhaul, Reigniting Tensions in Israel Amid War with Hamas

Israel’s Supreme Court on Monday struck down a key component of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious judicial overhaul, delivering a landmark decision that threatens to reopen the fissures in Israeli society that preceded the country’s ongoing war against Hamas.

The planned overhaul had sparked months of mass protests, threatened to trigger a constitutional crisis between the judicial and legislative branches of government and rattled the cohesion of the powerful military.

The divisions between the government and its citizens were largely put aside after Hamas militants carried out a bloody cross-border attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, triggering a war that has raged in Gaza for nearly three months.

However, Monday’s court decision could reignite those tensions, even while the country remains at war. The decision is a major setback for Netanyahu, who had pushed for the judicial overhaul in an effort to consolidate power and weaken the Supreme Court.

The court’s decision is expected to have far-reaching implications for the future of Israeli politics and society. It remains to be seen how the government will respond to the ruling and how it will affect the ongoing war against Hamas.