Benjamin Netanyahu has hit back at criticism of his government’s bitterly contested plans to overhaul Israel’s judiciary, insisting that a bill expected to be passed next week does not pose a threat to the country’s democracy.
The Israeli prime minister’s intervention via a prime-time speech on national television followed another day of demonstrations against his reforms. These have sparked one of the biggest wave of protests in Israel’s history, fierce criticism from military reservists and the country’s crucial tech sector, and mounting expressions of concern from US President Joe Biden.
In his address on Thursday night, Netanyahu veered between blaming his political opponents for the impasse and expressing hope that some form of cross-party agreement could yet be reached on the first part of the overhaul, which is due to face a final parliamentary vote on Monday.