Israel’s Supreme Court to blame for Eritrean riot, says Smotrich

Tel Aviv clashes that left over 170 injured are just a “promo” of what will come if illegal immigrants not repatriated, warns Finance Minister.

By TPS

Israel’s Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, who leads the right-wing Religious Zionist Party, put the blame for Saturday’s riots among Eritrean illegal immigrants in Tel Aviv squarely on the head of Israel’s Supreme Court and too the opportunity to use the violence as an example of why his government’s judicial reforms should be passed.

Calling the Tel Aviv riots merely a “promo” for what can be expected if the illegal immigrants are not repatriated, Smotrich said, “there is only one responsible: the High Court.”

“For years we have cautioned,” he said, “for years the High Court has prevented any action that would allow the infiltrators to be returned to their homes.

“That is precisely why we are leading the reforms in the judicial system that will allow elected officials to make decisions and carry them out for the citizens of Israel, their safety and security,” added Smotrich.

More than 170 people, including dozens of police officers, were injured when opposing groups of Eritrean migrants clashed in Tel Aviv on Saturday. One group was comprised of supporters of the Eritrean government and the other its opponents.

A number of businesses in the area of the rioting also suffered damage.

The controversial judicial reform plan of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu would curb the powers of Israel’s Supreme Court significantly. So, Minister Smotrich maintains that, if passed, his government would have the ability to deport more illegal immigrants who engage in such violent behavior without interference from the courts.