US President Joe Biden has given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advice on controversial Israeli judicial reform. “I hope he moves away from that,” Biden said on Tuesday. He was referring to the proposal that would give the Israeli government greater control over the appointment of the country’s Supreme Court.
“Israel cannot continue down this path,” Biden told journalists in North Carolina, adding: “I am very concerned.” The US government has repeatedly and clearly criticized the planned reform in Israel.
Biden also said he hopes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will “work out a real compromise.” In his opinion, the controversial reform should be abandoned altogether. The president added that he has no plans to invite Netanyahu to Washington “for the foreseeable future.”
Netanyahu immediately responded with a statement. “Israel is a sovereign country that makes its decisions according to the will of its people and not under pressure from abroad, even from their best friends,” he said. His government is trying to reform “through a broad consensus”.
However, Netanyahu explained that Biden’s demand does not damage the good relations between the two countries. “I have known President Biden for over 40 years and appreciate his longstanding commitment to Israel.” The Israeli-American alliance is unbreakable “and always transcends the occasional disagreements between us.”
In Israel, hundreds of thousands have been protesting for weeks against the right-wing government of Netanyahu’s so-called judicial reform, which they see as a threat to the country’s democracy.
In a dramatic about-face, Netanyahu then announced on Monday evening that he would pause the legislative process in order to seek a more mutually acceptable solution in dialogue with opponents. The opposition and numerous media reacted with extreme skepticism to Netanyahu’s offer of dialogue.
One of the alliances behind the protests wants to continue demonstrating “as long as the coup against the judiciary is not completely stopped”.
Further rallies were held Tuesday evening in Tel-Aviv and in front of President Isaac Herzog’s residence in Jerusalem. Under his mediation, there was an initial one-and-a-half-hour talk between the government and the opposition on the reform on Tuesday.
