Netanyahu vows 'consensus' amid protests as Knesset proceeds with vote on judicial overhaul

By Mahmoud Barakat and Saeed Amouri

ANKARA/JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday affirmed that the parliament, Knesset, will vote next week on his government-proposed judicial reform bill.

This came in a speech by Netanyahu amid mass protests against his coalition government’s plan for a judicial overhaul.

Netanyahu affirmed that the next week’s vote will take place on the selection of judges as part of the judicial reform plan, according to The Jewish Press.

"The law to change the appointment of judges (judicial reforms) will be submitted to the Knesset next week," Netanyahu said, noting that the bill “will restore the right balance between authorities.”

Referring to the daily anti-government protests, Netanyahu said: “In order to prevent a rift in our nation, each side must take seriously the claims and concerns of the other.”

He also said the judicial reform bill has already been amended, as previously demanded by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

"We cannot allow any disagreement, no matter how sharp, to jeopardize the common future of all of us," he said. "We must not only reject violence, but we must condemn incitement."

He also stressed the significance of “litigation and obtaining as broad a consensus as possible” as the best ways for reform.

Earlier on Thursday, Netanyahu summoned Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to his office, following Gallant’s statements against the judicial reforms, according to Hebrew media.

Gallant was expected to give a speech on Thursday evening to call for a halt to the judicial overhaul's legislation process, the Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

However, Gallant cancelled his speech after his meeting with Netanyahu.

“At the prime minister’s request and in light of his planned statement this evening, the minister of defense is delaying his statement at this stage,” Gallant’s office said in a statement according to the daily Times of Israel.

It said Gallant recently provided Netanyahu with disturbing data regarding the reform plan’s impact on the willingness of officers and soldiers for reserve service in the army.

In a related context, the Israeli police said it had arrested 26 demonstrators in Tel Aviv on suspicion of violating the law.

It added that it "arrested 10 demonstrators in the central region on charges of disorderly conduct."

According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, the police had arrested 87 demonstrators across Israel.

Israel has been experiencing mass protests for the past 12 weeks against the government's judicial reform plan.

* Ikram Kouachi contributed to this report.