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Israeli regime is on 'rampage' against human rights, HRW chief says

Thursday, 30 March 2023 10:27 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 30 March 2023 10:27 PM ]

Thousands rally across Tel Aviv, the occupied territories, on January 7, 2023 against the Israeli regime's new extremist cabinet. (Photo by Reuters)

Human Rights Watch (HRW)'s executive director strongly condemns the Israeli regime over its non-compliance with the principles of human rights.

Tirana Hassan made the remarks to Reuters on Thursday, singling out a set of so-called judicial reforms that are being pursued by the occupying regime as sheer examples of its unconcern for human rights.

"With the current state of the Israeli government and the attacks on the judiciary in particular, we see that this is not a human rights-compliant government," she said.

"This is a government that's actually on a rampage against human rights...," Hassan added.

The alleged judicial overhaul seeks to rob the Supreme Court of the power to overrule the decisions that are made by the Israeli regime's extremist cabinet and Knesset (the regime's parliament).

The changes will also enable lawmakers to override the court's rulings with a simple majority while giving them a bigger say in the selection committee that appoints the judges.

Detractors have denounced the measures as a judicial "coup."

Since the end of December, tens of thousands of people have been taking to the streets across the occupied territories on a weekly basis to try to discourage the regime from implementing the changes.

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Reacting to the HRW chief's remarks, Lior Haiat, the Israeli foreign ministry's spokesman, said, "This is an amazing example of how biased she (Hassan) and the organization (HRW) are."

"It is yet another example of an organization that targets Israel on anything, without a minimum understanding or fairness. So sad," Haiat added.

Under mounting pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has paused his fierce campaign to push through with the reforms.

Under mounting pressure from violent protests, Netanyahu agrees to delay judicial overhaul plan

After twelve consecutive weeks of protests, Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu has finally accepted to delay his infamous judicial reforms plan.

He, however, remains a staunch believer in the changes and condemns their critics as leftist opponents, who cannot accept the results of last November's elections that brought him back to power as premier.

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