Netanyahu offers to negotiate judicial reforms through November, issues 'call for peace and mutual respect'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a televised address Monday night offered to negotiate a controversial package of judicial reforms through November, while issuing a "call for peace and mutual respect" amid the reignition of mass protests and allegations he is steering the country toward authoritarian rule. 

Netanyahu, who was released from the hospital earlier Monday after being fitted for a pacemaker, saw his coalition pass the Reasonableness Standard Bill, part of the judicial reform package, along a 64-0 vote after members of the opposition left the hall of Israeli parliament, known as the Knesset, once the voting started. 

"Today, we carried out a necessary democratic step, one designed to restore a measure of balance between the authorities, what we had here for 50 years. We passed the amendment to the reasonableness standard so that the elected government will be able to lead policy according to the will of the majority of the citizens of the state," Netanyahu said Monday night.  

"In no way is carrying out the will of the voter ‘the end of democracy,’" Netanyahu said, rejecting the categorization by opposition leader Yair Lapid. "It is the essence of democracy. Due to the importance of the issue, the coalition worked throughout to reach consensus with the opposition. This was not a given."

ISRAEL PARLIAMENT PASSES NETANYAHU'S JUDICIAL REFORM BILL AMID MASS PROTESTS

"Here, we agreed to halt the legislation; we stopped it for three continuous months. We agreed to significant changes to the original policy," the prime minister continued. "I say with regret: None of our compromise proposals were accepted, not one. Even in the plenum today, as the voting was underway, until the last moment, we tried to reach agreement but the other side consistently refused. I remind you that until recently, senior opposition figures supported changing the reasonableness standard. Others even agreed to cancel it altogether."

Netanyahu said there being no agreement did not justify how mass demonstrations were "disrupting the lives of – and causing suffering to – millions of citizens who were unable to get to work, the hospital or the airport due to blocked highways, delayed ambulances, fires, and blocking Ben-Gurion International Airport." 

"Already in the coming days, the coalition will turn to the opposition in order to advance a dialogue between us. We are prepared to discuss everything, immediately, and do so in the round of talks during the Knesset recess and reach a comprehensive agreement on everything, and we will add more time should it be needed, until the end of November," Netanyahu said. "That is more than enough time to reach agreement on everything."

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As Netanyahu’s allies celebrated their victory and vowed to press ahead with more changes, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and opponents said they would challenge the new law in the Supreme Court. The overhaul calls for sweeping changes aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary, from limiting the Supreme Court’s ability to challenge parliamentary decisions to changing the way judges are selected. Opponents see the reforms as a power grab that will fuel corruption and eliminate oversight. 

"We have consensus. We all agree that Israel needs to remain a strong democracy, that it will continue to safeguard individual rights for all, that it will not become a state governed by Jewish religious law, that the court will continue to be independent and that no side will control it," the prime minister warned, responding to criticism of his own judicial reform package. "I would like to reiterate that: No side must be allowed to control the court. This will not happen on our watch."

Netanyahu also called on the Israeli people to "leave IDF [Israel Defense Forces] duty out of the political debate."

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Monday's vote rattled the cohesion of Israel's powerful military and repeatedly drew concern from Israel’s closest ally, the United States. Thousands of military reservists have declared their refusal to serve under a government they see as setting the country on a path to dictatorship — prompting fears that the military’s preparedness could be compromised.

"Let us reach agreement. This is my call to you, and I extend my hand and call for peace and mutual respect between us," Netanyahu concluded. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.