Hezbollah leader: Israel on path toward collapse, fragmentation

The secretary general of Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement says the Israeli far-right cabinet's insistence on pushing ahead with its controversial judicial overhaul plan has put the regime on the path to collapse.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah made the remarks in a Monday speech after Israel's Knesset approved a key part of the hugely unpopular plan that is spearheaded by the regime's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Today, as some people say, has been the worst day in the history of the Zionist regime," Nasrallah said, adding, "This is what puts it on the path of collapse, fragmentation, and disappearance, God willing."

He noted that since 2000, when the resistance front defeated Israel for the second time after its first defeat in 1985, the notion of the regime’s invincibility started to change in the Arab world.

“Therefore, [Israeli] settlers have been facing a cascade of crises [since that time] and today, we see that it is on the path toward collapse,” Nasrallah said.

The bill approved by the Israeli lawmakers prevents the regime’s Supreme Court from striking down the extremist cabinet’s decisions if it deemed them to be “unreasonable.” It is part of a broader scheme that Netanyahu announced in January as means of supposedly curbing what he called decades of undue political interference by judges.

His opponents, however, say the so-called reforms would hand over unbridled powers to the politicians. They also accuse Netanyahu, who is on trial on several counts of corruption charges, of trying to use the scheme to quash possible judgments against him.

The crisis resulting from the Israeli cabinet’s effort to have the Knesset ratify the scheme has prompted weekly protests across the occupied territories, which have in many cases turned violent.

On Monday, the rallies raged on as the Knesset was debating the changes. Footage emerging from the demonstrations showed the regime's forces dragging away protesters who had chained themselves to posts in the occupied city of al-Quds and blocked the road outside the Knesset.

Violent protests rock Israel as Knesset approves key part of Netanyahu's controversial 'judicial overhaul' plan

Violent protests rock the occupied territories as the Knesset approves key part of Netanyahu’s controversial “judicial overhaul” plan.

The crisis has also affected the regime’s military, where thousands of volunteer reservists have vowed not to report for duty if the cabinet continued with the plan. This has prompted warnings by some current and former military officials that Israel's war readiness could be at risk.

On Thursday, the former head of Israel's so-called internal security service, Shin Bet, warned that the occupied territories are on the brink of “civil war” as Netanyahu’s extremist cabinet presses ahead with its radical and destructive policies.

Nadav Argaman raised the alarm as he expressed support for the Israeli military reservists who threatened to stop showing up for duty.

Describing Netanyahu’s overhaul scheme as a “regime coup,” Argaman said, “I am certain that if the legislation passes, there will be those who say, ‘We will not be part of the security force of a dictatorship.’ We’ll see people leaving; we’ll see a fraying.”

Ex-Shin Bet chief warns Israel ‘on the brink of civil war’

The former head of Israel

Pointing to the months-long protests against the so-called overhaul plan in the occupied territories, Argaman added, “Any legislation that does not have a broad consensus will lead…Israel to chaos… I am fearful for…Israel. I greatly fear that we are on the brink of civil war.”

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk