Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is still “open for negotiations” on a key clause of his hard-right government’s controversial judicial reforms, as protests intensified ahead of final votes on the bill.
Israel has been rocked by a months-long wave of protests after the government unveiled in January plans to overhaul the judicial system that opponents say threaten the country’s democracy.
An Israeli parliamentary committee has already moved to limit the “reasonability” clause that allows the judiciary to strike down government decisions, in a marathon debate that ended late on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).
But Mr Netanyahu, on live TV on Thursday night, tried to reach out to protesters and critics who have rallied against the reforms.
“I’m Prime Minister to all of you … we are still trying to reach an agreement with the opposition,” he said.
“Even now there are efforts to reach an agreement on the reasonability clause. I really hope that the efforts will be successful, but even if not, my door remains open for negotiations.”
Mr Netanyahu paused the legislative process in March and launched cross-party talks over the issue, but opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz pulled out of the discussions.
In recent weeks, he launched a fresh political offensive to push through the reforms in parliament.
Read the article by Michael Blum and Jay Deshmukh in The Australian.