Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press briefing in Berlin today that the coalition had proposed a different possibility for the composition of the judicial selection committee to President Isaac Herzog from the one in the legislation currently going through the Knesset. The issue of the committee’s composition is one of the most controversial parts of the government’s judicial reform. "What was suggested to the president by the coalition consisted of two stages: an immediate fix and balancing afterwards," Netanyahu said. "The president heard what we had to say, and put it aside."
It is not clear just what the proposal was that was put to the president on the composition of the judicial selection committee, but Netanyahu added, "The president’s proposal is a great opportunity missed. This is not "The People’s Plan’, and I’m not sure that it’s even half the people’s plan," referring to the headline that Herzog gave to the plan that he outlined in an address to the nation yesterday.
In his remarks at a press briefing after his meeting today with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Netanyahu stressed that the coalition’s actions in connection with the judicial reform legislation "need to lead to balance", but he also said that "the balance must not be upset in the other direction either." "I am attentive to what is happening among the people," he added, "but it is necessary to put forward something that is in line with the mandate we received, and we shall do this responsibly."
The subject of the legal system revolution dominated the agenda in Netanyahu’s visit to Berlin today. Netanyahu made clear however that "the Chancellor set no conditions for relations with Israel because of the reform, particularly not for security relations."
Israel and Germany have decided to "proceed" with the deal for the sale of Israel’s Arrow 3 missile defense system to Germany. A senior diplomatic source said that the deal was "something completely new", and that "if up to now it was Israel that sought to buy advanced weaponry from Europe, a significant change has now taken place, and the Germans are asking this of us." The source said that the Americans had given the green light to the two sides to proceed with the deal, as reported by "Globes" last week. Germany is expected to be the first customer for the system, which was developed jointly with the US, but it may be joined by other European countries.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 16, 2023.
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