(MENAFN- Hip Hop-24) On Monday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog pledged to work to find a solution to the constitutional controversy in his country, following the announcement of a government plan to limit the role of the judiciary, which the opposition describes as a "coup."
This came, according to Herzog's statement, after a meeting he had at his official residence in West Jerusalem with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who arrived in Israel from Egypt earlier Monday.
"I heard your assessment of the constitutional debate in Israel," Herzog told Blinken. "It's something I'm committed to and trying to resolve, or launch a dialogue process."
For his part, the US Secretary of State said: "We appreciate the clarity of your voice regarding de-escalation of tension and building consensus on the issue of reform" judicial, according to the same source.
Herzog had previously announced that he would hold meetings with the leaders of the government coalition and the opposition in an attempt to bridge views and reach a solution that would prevent Israel from facing the largest constitutional crisis in its history.
During a press conference held by Blinken with Netanyahu at the outset of the visit, the US Secretary expressed President Joe Biden's administration's concern over pushing for the controversial plan, considering that "building consensus on new proposals is the most effective way to ensure their adoption and continuity."
"What makes our partnership so strong are shared interests and shared values - especially support for democratic institutions and values, protection of human rights, protection of minority rights, protection of the rule of law, freedom of the press, and strengthening of civil society," said the US Secretary of State.
Blinken's words, which were "the most important public statement of the Biden administration regarding Netanyahu's plan to weaken the justice system, showed the extent of the US administration's annoyance with its contents and negative consequences," according to the Hebrew "Walla" website.
On the fourth of this month, Israeli Minister of Justice Yariv Levin announced a comprehensive reform plan for the judicial system, which Netanyahu said aims to restore balance between the three authorities, while the opposition, which launched mass demonstrations to protest against it, described it as a "judicial coup."
The plan includes including government control of the judge appointment committee and limiting the powers of the Supreme Court (Israel's highest judicial body).
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