The Israeli Knesset has approved a controversial law that increases government control over judicial appointments. According to The Times of Israel, the disputed bill, which reduces the influence of senior judiciary members on appointments and transfers this authority to the government’s control, was passed by 67 lawmakers voting in favor. Under the approved law, the 9-member committee responsible for judge appointments will include two legal experts, one chosen by the government and the other by the opposition. These committee members appointed by politics will also possess veto power over judge appointments. Critics from the opposition and legal experts regarding the approved law set to take effect in the future argue that it will politicize judicial appointments. Following the approval of the law, the main opposition party leader Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid, along with the Israeli Bar Association and civil society organizations, immediately petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court to annul the law that significantly increases government control over judge appointments. The opposition lodged a record-breaking 71,000 complaints against the bill being discussed in the Israeli Knesset. Due to the objections, the sessions to pass the law lasted 18 hours in the Knesset. Opposition members who opposed the contentious judiciary reform skipped the final vote of the bill, walking out of the plenary session. In the Israeli Knesset, a law requires three readings to be passed, with the critical vote of approval during the first reading requiring at least 61 votes in the 120-seat Knesset. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s judicial reform has been the government’s controversial agenda as of 2023, after Netanyahu came to power in 2023 until Hamas’s surprise attack on October 7, 2023. Netanyahu’s government had seen significant backlash throughout the year due to the contentious “judicial package” that aimed to limit the powers of the Attorney General and the Supreme Court over the executive branch and to allow the government to have a say in judge appointments, leading to street protests, civil disobedience actions, strikes, divisions in the military, and objections from the business community. Following the commencement of attacks on Gaza on October 7, 2023, the controversial judicial reform was postponed. In January 2024, the Israeli Supreme Court had overturned some laws passed by the Knesset, restricting the court’s powers, as being “contrary to Israel’s constitutional basic laws”. The Netanyahu government had recently pressed the button once again for the controversial judicial reform.