President Biden expressed his concerns about the judicial reform law and its potential consequences, urging Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to halt the planned vote on the bill, which is part of the "judicial reform."
From the perspective of Israel's "friends" in the United States, the current proposed judicial reform is believed to further deepen the divisions within the country, Biden emphasized. Considering the various threats and challenges Israel is currently facing, rushing this reform does not seem logical, and the focus of Israeli leaders should be on bringing people together and achieving consensus, according to Biden.
During a phone call on Monday, July 17, after a four-month hiatus, Biden urged Netanyahu to seek broad consensus on the controversial "judicial reform," as reported by two sources to Axios.
Biden conveyed that his concerns about the direction Netanyahu is leading Israel are shared by many American citizens as well.
Another US official, expressed concerns that the "crisis" facing the Israeli military could have negative effects on the country's deterrence strategy.
The official also stated that the tension in Israel could potentially encourage "military provocations" by Iran or Hezbollah in the region, which could escalate the situation.
The "judicial reform" announced by Israeli Minister of Justice Yariv Levin on January 5 includes changes such as limiting the powers of the Supreme Court and giving the government a say in judicial appointments.
Prime Minister Netanyahu had announced on March 27 that he postponed the judicial reform, which had led to increasing mass protests and strikes nationwide. However, after the passage of the 2023-2024 budget in late May, he announced that they would bring the judicial reform back to the agenda.
Following the deadlock in negotiations with the opposition, the government recently resumed efforts for the judicial reform.
As part of the judicial reform, the Netanyahu government stated that the bill to remove the government's oversight of the Supreme Court would be brought to the Knesset for a second and third vote on July 24, after passing the first vote on July 11.
Thousands of Israelis, including war pilots, submarine officers, and other elite units, had decided to resign from voluntary reserve duty in opposition to the government's "judicial reform."
The Israeli media had claimed that Defense Minister Gallant was working on postponing the bill to remove the government's oversight of the Supreme Court in response to the reaction from reserve soldiers in the military.
Numerous prominent figures in Israeli politics, the military, security, economy, and judiciary had publicly expressed their opposition to the government's judicial reform.
The protest movement against Netanyahu's government's judicial reform has been ongoing for approximately 7 months.
