Israel’s Netanyahu seeks ‘active steps’ on judicial overhaul this week

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he would pursue “active steps” on a contested judicial overhaul this week after what he described as months of wasteful compromise talks with the political opposition.
Netanyahu’s televised remarks to his cabinet were spare on detail and come after opposition leaders last week suspended negotiations pending the formation of a key panel for selecting judges.
Unveiled soon after Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist coalition took power in late December, the sweeping reforms would roll back some Supreme Court powers and give the government more control over appointments to the bench.
The proposed legislation set off unprecedented street protests, with critics of Netanyahu – who is on trial on corruption charges he denies – accusing him of trying to curb judicial independence.
He says he wants to balance out branches of government and end perceived court overreach. But with Israel’s economy bruised by the furore and foreign allies voicing worry for its democracy, he froze the reforms in March and entered into the compromise talks.