Netanyahu pushes through judicial reform vote in Israel despite protests

Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Despite intensified protests against judicial reforms in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the first reading for the law changes will go on as scheduled Monday.

Netanyahu pushed ahead with the plans to advance the reforms despite thousands of protesters gathered outside of the Knesset to demonstrate against the changes which some opponents allege are being made to help Netanyahu escape long-standing corruption charges and destroy the independence of the courts from the government.

"So, today there will be votes, and tomorrow I hope the path will be opened to dialogue," Netanyahu said. "One thing won't change. The people made their electoral choices and the representatives of the people will exercise their right to vote here in the Knesset. That's called democracy."

President Isaac Herzog presented proposals for compromise last week while calling for the legislative process to be paused. Former prime minister and Opposition leader Yair Lapid also called for a 60-day halt to the voting process on the judicial changes so negotiations can take hold but Netanyahu's coalition refused.

Netanyahu said there was "more than enough time to talk and a genuine desire" to reach a compromise, adding that some members were willing to enter talks without conditions but were too "afraid of bullies in their camps" to do so.

He also condemned the attorney general for warning that he could not speak publicly about the judicial changes due to conflicts of interest related to the corruption probe against him.

"I'm told: Not only can't you deal with the reform, but you can't speak about it," he said. "You were elected but you can't speak on behalf of the electorate. How am I supposed to represent them? Telepathically?" Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu called the behavior of the protestors "thuggish," scolding them for blocking Likud Knesset member Tally Gotliv from leaving her house to vote and preventing her from taking her daughter to school, asserting the demonstrators had reached "a new low this morning."

Dan Halutz, the former staff chief of the Israel Defense Forces, charged that Netanyahu and his government have declared war on an "independent judiciary" and he and other demonstrators "won't let this happen."

National Unity Party chair Benny Gantz, another former Israeli military leader, said "history will judge Netanyahu" and criticized the government for pushing judicial reforms at the expense of other important issues.

"The Iranian threat is increasing but [the Israeli government] continues destroying our relations with the world," Gantz said. "In Lod, people are being killed but they are fighting protestors instead of criminals. East Jerusalem is burning but they are inflaming Israeli society. The inflation is rising but they are trampling the High Court."