JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition yesterday accused United States (US) Ambassador Tom Nides of interference in Israel’s internal affairs.
The call came after Nides urged Netanyahu to slow down his plans for judicial overhaul, which have triggered mass protests in Israel over the past weeks.
“We’re telling the Prime Minister, as I tell my kids, pump the brakes, slow down, try to get a consensus, bring the parties together,” Anadolu Agency quoted Nides as saying to media.
But Netanyahu’s Likud Party said the judicial reform did not concern the US envoy.
“Pump the brakes yourself and mind your own business,” Likud member and Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli said in statements cited by public broadcaster KAN.
Chikli called on Nides to respect Israel’s democracy, adding that he would discuss diplomatic and security issues with the US ambassador.
Thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets over the past weeks to protest Netanyahu’s plans for judicial reform.
Proposed by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the reform, if enacted, would be the most radical change ever in the system of government in Israel.
The planned change would severely limit the power of the Supreme Court of Justice, give the government the power to choose judges, and end the appointment of legal advisers to ministries by the attorney general.
However, Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, insists that his judicial plan would enhance democracy.