US President Joe Biden is making a last-ditch effort to urge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reconsider a vote on a reform of Israel’s judicial branch.
“Given the range of threats and challenges confronting Israel right now, it doesn’t make sense for Israeli leaders to rush this — the focus should be on pulling people together and finding consensus,” Biden told Axios in a statement.
Israel’s legislative body is poised to vote on the bill Monday against a backdrop of fierce public opposition. On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of Israelis protested the plan that intends to prevent judges from overriding government decisions or appointments based on reasonableness.
Read more: Israeli CEOs Ditch the C-Suite to Lead Anti-Government Protests
“It looks like the current judicial reform proposal is becoming more divisive, not less,” Biden added in the statement. The Biden administration has for months expressed concern over the plan, though the president’s latest comments are his strongest yet on the matter.
Thousands of reservists — vital to military operations — have said in recent days that they will refrain from their volunteer service if the bill becomes law. More than 100 top former heads of various security services, many of whom worked directly for Netanyahu, have called on him to halt the legislation.
Netanyahu, 73, fainted earlier this month and was hospitalized. The prime minister, in a video address from the hospital, said he will still join the legislative debate on Monday, adding that he had a cardiac pacemaker inserted.
Read more: Netanyahu Gets Pacemaker as Vote Nears on Judicial Overhaul
