Israel’s ruling coalition accuses US ambassador of interference

By Zain Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition on Sunday accused 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," Nides told CNN.

But Netanyahu's Likud Party said the judicial reform does 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.

For his part, far-right lawmaker Simcha Rothman, a member of the hardline Religious Zionism Party and head of the Knesset's Constitution Committee, urged Nides not to interfere in the matter.

"I don't think it’s necessary to interfere in the internal matters of any country," she said. "I don't think it is legitimate in Israel, and definitely not in the US, to say this [Netanyahu's judicial reform] endangers the country."

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.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar