EU Closely Monitoring Developments in Israel But Will Not Interfere - Spokesman

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th March, 2023) The European Union is closely monitoring the situation in Israel but has no plans to interfere in the internal affairs which is the responsibility of the democratic institution in the country to resolve, EU spokesman for foreign affairs and security policy Peter Stano said on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Israel faced a massive strike by the country's largest trade union as hundreds of thousands of people in the transportation, education and retail industries stopped working. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his coalition partners that work on the judicial reform would be suspended.

"We are following the developments in Israel very closely and we still have trust in the ability of the Israeli democratic institutions to deal with the problem," Stano told a midday briefing.

The official emphasized that the situation with the controversial judicial reform, which triggered nationwide protests, is an internal issue, and the EU is not in a position to interfere.

"It is not for us to interfere, to comment on it, these are internal developments handled by the democratic institutions and stakeholders in the Israeli society," Stano said.

Protests against the reform have been held in Israel for 12 straight weeks. In January, Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin rolled out a legal reform package that would limit the authority of the Supreme Court by giving the cabinet control over the selection of new judges, as well as allowing the Knesset to override the court's rulings with an absolute majority. The reform's opponents argue it will undermine democracy in Israel and put the country on the verge of a social and constitutional crisis.