Netanyahu accused of exploiting pandemic to maintain power

JERUSALEM - Civil liberties activists asked Israel's Supreme Court on Thursday to suspend cellphone monitoring put in place under emergency regulations to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced this week that Israel’s Shin Bet security agency would begin deploying its phone surveillance technology to help curb the spread of the coronavirus in Israel by tracking the moves of those infected. The order went into effect late Wednesday when the government said it had notified about 400 people that they had come into contact with infected people and should immediately quarantine themselves.

The Association of Civil Rights in Israel, Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights - and the Joint List of Arab parties petitioned the court to freeze the monitoring.

"The government cannot bypass the legislature and hide behind a general state of emergency to commit such extreme human rights violations," Adalah said in a statement. "This crosses a red line no less troubling that the coronavirus epidemic itself."

Asking the court to dismiss the petitions, the government said that once parliament establishes a committee that can draw up a law governing monitoring procedures during the health crisis, the cabinet will seek "normal legislation". Netanyahu, who faces a looming trial over alleged corruption and breach of public trust, has been accused by political opponents of exploiting the pandemic and taking action that undermines democracy in order to hold on to power.

Israel already uses phone surveillance in the occupied Palestinian territories, claiming it’s an important tool to prevent attacks on Israelis, but critics say it’s also aimed at maintaining tight control over the Palestinian population. The surveillance within Israel has sparked widespread criticism from lawmakers and civil rights groups.

Israel has 529 confirmed coronavirus cases and Netanyahu has said he will issue lockdown orders unless people step up compliance with guidelines urging them to stay at home. He has thrived in the coronavirus crisis, delivering stern televised addresses nearly every evening and presenting himself as the responsible adult steering the country through an unprecedented emergency.

He has defended tough steps by his caretaker government, including the electronic surveillance and a suspension of Israel's parliament, as measures he has reluctantly been forced to impose in order to save lives. He says his opponents are focused on petty politics.

'It isn't a democracy'

The Israeli Health Ministry says the surveillance measures have allowed it to alert hundreds of people who were found to have been near a coronavirus carrier and may not have been aware.

The cabinet has set a two-week period for the emergency rules. Netanyahu said waiting for parliament to act would have wasted time and cost lives, after facing criticism for allowing Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, a member of his Likud party, to suspend parliamentary proceedings.

Parliament was sworn in on Monday but Netanyahu's right-wing Likud and the centrist Blue and White party led by his main rival Benny Gantz were at loggerheads over formation of legislative committees, including one that would address the cyber-monitoring issue.

Critics say Yudelstein chose to adjourn parliamentary proceedings rather than pursue a vote on the composition of various committees as those panels, if controlled by Blue and White, could pursue legislation banning a criminal suspect - i.e. Netanyahu - from forming a government.

Following the election, Netanyahu has the support of only 58 lawmakers, leaving him three short of a majority. Gantz has the support of 62 of parliament's 120 members and has been tasked with putting together a ruling coalition. If he fails, Netanyahu is likely to be tapped next to try. Israel has held three inconclusive elections in less than a year. 

On Sunday, the justice minister, a Netanyahu appointee, cut back on court hearings, citing the need for social distancing. The courts shutdown was approved in the middle of the night, just one day before the prime minister's criminal trial was to begin. The move delayed by two months, until May, the opening of Netanyahu's trial on bribery, breach of trust and fraud charges. He denies any wrongdoing.

In a video statement, Yair Lapid, a senior figure in Blue and White, told Israeli citizens that they “no longer live in a democracy.”

“There is no judicial branch in Israel. There is no legislative branch in Israel. There is only an unelected government that is headed by a person who lost the election. You can call that by a lot of names. It isn’t a democracy,” he said in a recorded video.

Outside parliament, hundreds protested the government’s moves, hoisting banners that said “No to dictatorship,” “Democracy in danger,” and calling Netanyahu the “crime minister.”

Police said they arrested three people for violating a ban on gatherings of more than 10 people. They also blocked a convoy of dozens of cars from entering Jerusalem and prevented dozens of other cars inside Jerusalem from approaching the Knesset building. Many of the cars honked and hung black flags out their windows.