Israelis hold 1st inter-party dialogue on judicial overhaul

By Zain Khalil

ISTANBUL (AA) - Israeli government coalition and opposition parties have held their first meeting over judicial reform compromise, according to President Isaac Herzog’s office.

Participants of Tuesday evening's meeting included representatives of the Likud Party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as the opposition parties, including the Yesh Atid led by Yair Lapid and the National Unity party led by Benny Gantz, according to the Hebrew Channel 12.

“We made it clear that we expect to drop the legislation introduced at night in the Knesset, in order to start a discussion on a blank page,” Yesh Atid said in a statement.

“We consider it important that all the principles we agree on here be broadly agreed upon by the public representatives, which will reflect the national consensus of the citizens of Israel,” the statement added.

The two parties, the government and the opposition, did not disclose the outcome of the meeting.

On Monday, Netanyahu announced a temporary suspension of the controversial judicial reform plans, which triggered mass protests in Israel over the past 12 weeks.

*Ikram Kouachi in Ankara contributed to this report