Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the possibility his government will pass its original judicial reform plan, saying that a majority of Israelis back a compromise.
Speaking with CBS Sunday, Netanyahu said the demonstrations against the judicial reform plan highlighted the strength of Israeli democracy, and emphasized his support for a negotiated compromise on judicial overhaul.
“There is a broad consensus that we have to make corrections in our judicial system. There’s obviously a dramatic difference between the views of how, to what extent, and so on.”
“The fact that we have demonstrations, I think that is a sign of our democracy, just as you have demonstrations in France, you have demonstrations in the United States.”
“I will not accept a blanket ability of the parliament to overcome Supreme Court decisions, just as we don’t accept that the Supreme Court can abrogate any decision by the parliament or the government. Both sides of these extremes actually hinder the balance between the three branches of government, which is exactly what we are trying to bring into balance.”
“I said, ‘Alright, let’s take a time out, and let’s try to see how we can balance the two opposing sides’. One says that we don’t have democracy because we don’t have majority rule, because we elect with a majority the parliament and the government and then they are overturned – every decision can be overturned by the Supreme Court.”
“And on the other side, people say: ‘Well, okay, if you protect the rights of the majority, you might be hindering the rights of the minority or individual rights by having the parliament overrule the Supreme Court.”
Netanyahu downplayed claims the controversy has harmed his government’s ties with the Biden administration.
“It is an internal matter that we have to resolve and we’re doing it is by seeking a consensus.”
“There is recognition on both sides now that extreme positions of keeping what we have exactly as it is is unacceptable, and people on my side of the aisle believe that the original proposal is not going to happen either.”
“There is a middle way and I am going to do my damnedest to find it, because I think it is the right thing to do for the country.”
Turning to the Abraham Accords, Netanyahu expressed optimism regarding the chances of normalizing relations with additional Arab and Muslim states, rejecting claims that his right-wing allies would turn off moderate Arab and Muslim countries.
“With this coalition, things that I see under the surface that we are going to have because of this view…that Arab countries have to partner with Israel, I think you’re going to be surprised and maybe sooner than you think.”
The prime minister defended National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s request that the government establish a national guard.
“The National Guard is not merely his idea, it’s a wide proposal which was…actually proposed by the previous government as well, because Israel has a small police force relative to the size of the population, and we face – unlike other police forces around the world – the constant threat of terror. So we need an additional body, a National Guard.”