Israeli government rejects president’s judicial compromise

Netanyahu said that all attempts at dialogue were worthy, but that “central clauses in the outline he presented only perpetuate the existing situation and do not bring the required balance to the branches of government in Israel.”

He added: “That is the unfortunate truth.”

Ms Miri Regev, the minister of transportation in Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party, was cruder in her rejection of the outline, describing it as “an insult to the intelligence of the public.”

“This is an outline that takes a clear side, against the people and the sovereign,” she added. “The truth is I was expecting something more serious.”

Much of the proposed legislation has passed initial votes in Parliament and could be put up for the second and the third and final votes before the end of the month.

Supporters of the government’s plan say the changes are necessary to curb the influence of unelected judges and an overactive Supreme Court and to vest more power in the elected government.

Critics, including retired justices and security chiefs, former prime ministers and leaders of the business community, say the government plan will destroy the independence of the court, remove the only check on the government and lead to the tyranny of the majority.

They say the legislation is particularly dangerous in a country that lacks any formal, written Constitution, has only one house of Parliament – which is controlled by the coalition – has no federal or constituency system and has a mostly ceremonial president.

Critics also fear that Netanyahu, who is standing trial on corruption charges, could use the judicial changes to extricate himself from his legal troubles. He has denied any such intentions.

Mr Herzog’s outline proposes expanding the judges’ selection committee and giving the coalition more representation on it, but not an automatic majority.

His framework would make it harder for the Supreme Court to strike down ordinary legislation and would block it from cancelling the country’s Basic Laws, which effectively serve as a Constitution, while making it much harder for Parliament to introduce new Basic Laws.

The presidential proposal also would not allow Parliament to override Supreme Court decisions.

Opposition party leaders welcomed the president’s effort, with some saying they would accept his outline as a basis for new legislation or further dialogue.

Mr Yair Lapid, the centrist leader of the opposition, did not explicitly accept or adopt the outline, but said it should be approached with the proper respect for the institution of the presidency.