Political situation in Israel / The Israel-Palestine conflict

 

Riot police use water cannon to disperse protesters in Tel Aviv on Monday. Oded Balilty / AP 

 

Political situation in Israel 

Israeli doctors are on strike in protest of the new law  

 

The Israeli medical union has announced a 24-hour strike on Tuesday in protest against the new law that was voted through in the Knesset on Monday, writes The Guardian.  

 

The trade union, which states that it represents over 95 percent of the country's doctors, says that it is stopping work with the exception of healthcare in Jerusalem and emergency healthcare throughout the country.  

 

Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated against the heavily criticized law on Monday evening. During the evening, criticism also came from the outside world, including from the US and Germany's foreign ministry.  

 

The law means, among other things, that the Supreme Court is prevented from stopping government decisions and is part of a larger legal reform that many claim undermines the independence of the judiciary.  

 

Demonstrations in Israel. AP  

 

Tens of thousands demonstrate: "We are heading towards civil war" 

 

Tens of thousands of demonstrators went out on Monday evening to protest against the legal reform in Israel, several media reports.  

 

In Tel Aviv, a major highway has been blocked. The demonstrations have been violent in some places, and the police have fired water cannons into the crowds. Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tells British Channel 4 that Israel is now "entering a civil war". 

 

- The government has decided to threaten the foundations of Israeli democracy, and that is not something we can accept or tolerate.  

 

Similar voices come from human rights lawyer Jonatan Macznik, who joined the demonstrations.  

 

- It is a restriction of Israeli democracy that has been adopted in the Knesset today, he says to SVT Nyheter.

 

 

Smoke comes from a military attack in Nablus on Monday. Majdi Mohammed / AP  

 

The Israel-Palestine conflict  

Three Palestinians killed by Israeli military  

 

Three Palestinians have been shot dead in the city of Nablus in the West Bank, according to the Israeli military, Reuters writes. 

 

The people are said to have opened fire from a car at Israeli security forces. In the past year, unrest has increased in the West Bank, which is occupied by Israel. Palestinians have attacked Israeli targets and Israeli settlers have attacked Palestinians.