After months of protests, Israel's prime minister has made a surprise announcement that he is dropping one of the most contentious parts of his judicial overhaul plans.

 

Netanyahu drops key part of Israel judicial overhaul plans

After months of protests, Israel's prime minister has made a surprise announcement that he is dropping one of the most contentious parts of his judicial overhaul plans.

However, Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks to The Wall Street Journal have failed to appease leaders of the demonstrations and have angered his coalition partners.

In an interview, Mr Netanyahu told the US newspaper he was no longer seeking to give parliament the authority to overturn Supreme Court rulings.

"The idea of an override clause, where the parliament, the Knesset, can override the decisions of the Supreme Court with a simple majority... I threw that out," he said.

Leaders of the demonstrations which have caused upheaval in the country since early this year said the proposed changes did not go far enough and pledged to continue their rallies.

One protester, Tamar Krongrad, told the BBC that Mr Netanyahu was "throwing sand in the eyes of the audience" after being shunned by Western leaders over the judicial plans.

"We are fighting for the soul of our country and one interview with one person doesn't make everything else go away," she added.

Meanwhile, far-right ultranationalist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, the leader of the Jewish Power party, accused Mr Netanyahu of "surrendering" to civil unrest, saying it was "a victory for violence and a loss for Israel".

"We were elected to bring governance and change. Reform is a cornerstone of that promise," he tweeted.

An ultra-Orthodox minister, Meir Porush, told a newspaper that the original changes to bolster parliament were a condition for his United Torah Judaism party joining the governing coalition. "Any other agreement is not acceptable to us," he said.

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