Israeli PM and US President exchange frosty words over legal overhaul

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rebuffed President Joe Bidens suggestion that the premier walks away from a contentious plan to overhaul the legal system saying the country makes its own decisionsThe exchange was a rare bout of public disagreement between the two close allies and signals building friction between Israel and the US over Netanyahus judicial changes which he postponed after massive protestsAsked by reporters late Tuesday what he hopes the premier does with the legislation Biden replied I hope he walks away from it The president added that Netanyahus government cannot continue down this road and urged compromise on the plan roiling IsraelThe president also stepped around US Ambassador Thomas Nides suggestion that Netanyahu would soon be invited to the White House saying No not in the near term Netanyahu replied that Israel is sovereign and makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad including from the best of friendsThe frosty exchange came a day after Netanyahu called for a halt to his governments contentious legislation to avoid civil war in the wake of two consecutive days of mass protests that drew tens of thousands of people to Israels streetsHopefully the prime minister will act in a way that he can try to work out some genuine compromise But that remains to be seen Biden said to reporters as he left North Carolina to return to WashingtonIsraeli protest organisers called for a demonstration in support of Biden outside the US embassy building in Tel Aviv on Thursday while Netanyahus allies doubled down on their criticism Itamar BenGvir a close Netanyahu ally and minister in charge of police told Israels Army Radio that Israel is not another star in the American flagI expect the US president to understand this point he said Speaking to Kan public radio Education Minister Yoav Kisch said that a friend may not try to impose on the other regarding internal issuesAlso read Tensions ease in Israel as Benjamin Netanyahu pauses judicial overhaulNimrod Goren senior fellow at the Middle East Institute noted that the USIsrael relationship has had previous points of crisis over for example the nowdefunct agreement to limit Irans nuclear capabilities In contrast he said now the White House appeared to be questioning Netanyahus competence as prime minister and whether hes reliable or responsibleNetanyahu and his religious and ultranationalist allies announced the judicial overhaul in January just days after forming their government the most rightwing in Israels historyThe proposal has plunged Israel into its worst domestic crisis in decades Business leaders top economists and former security chiefs have all come out against the plan saying it is pushing the country toward dictatorshipThe plan would give Netanyahu who is on trial on corruption charges and his allies the final say in appointing the nations judges It would also give parliament which is controlled by his allies authority to overturn Supreme Court decisions and limit the courts ability to review lawsCritics say the legislation would concentrate power in the hands of the coalition in parliament and upset the balance of checks and balances between branches of governmentNetanyahu said he was iqueststriving to achieve via a broad consensusiquest in talks with opposition leaders that began TuesdayYair Lapid the opposition leader in Israels parliament wrote on Twitter that Israel was the USs closest allies for decades but the most radical government in the countrys history ruined that in three monthsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever