Benjamin Netanyahu DELAYS legal shake-up that could ‘give him power to overrule judges’ after riots rocked Israel
ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed his controversial judicial plans after fiery protests erupted in recent weeks.
Benjamin Netanyahu refused to back down over sweeping new laws which opposition parties claim could allow politicians major powers to override judges, claiming it’s a major blow to democracy.
The delay comes only days after the PM doubled down on his controversial plans.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who is meant to remain non-political, called out the PM, begging him to “come to his senses”.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant called on Netanyahu to halt the plans for a month as the nation faces a “clear, immediate and tangible danger to the security of the State”.
But Gallant was fired by Netanyahu after his comments, sparking further protests.
But in the face of the worst protests Israel had ever seen, he vowed to make sure new laws would not give “unlimited” powers and wanted to find a “happy centre” ground.
Opposition leaders claim the plans from Netanyahu’s far-right party would allow politicians to appoint all supreme court judges, and could see them overrule decisions too.
The PM played down the outrage as a “huge propaganda campaign” and insisted it was nothing to do with the corruption and bribery trial he is currently facing.
Netanyahu accused Israel’s Supreme Court of becoming “too powerful” and “nullifying” Government decisions with “unacceptable” interventions.
He admitted: “There’s a lot of tension right now and I wish it wasn’t so, but I’m quite confident that we’ll get over this difficulty, because you have to reform things that get ossified.”