LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu to London on Friday while demonstrators gathered nearby to protest against the Israeli government’s right-wing policies.
Israel faces a national crisis over the government’s plans to overhaul the judicial system. They have ignited Israel’s biggest protests in history and sparked rare dissent from across Israeli society, including military reservists, navy veterans, high-tech businesspeople and former officials.
As thousands of people took to the streets across the country on Thursday, Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, defiantly pledged to proceed with the overhaul hours after his coalition passed a law making it harder to remove him from office.
The overhaul plans would give Israel’s most right-wing coalition in history more control over judicial appointments, weaken the Supreme Court by limiting judicial review of legislation and allow Parliament to overturn court decisions with a simple majority.
Rights groups and Palestinians say Israel’s democratic ideals have long been tarnished by the country’s 55-year, open-ended occupation of lands the Palestinians seek for an independent state and the treatment of Palestinian Israeli citizens, who face discrimination in many spheres.
Netanyahu pushed back his departure to Britain until 4 a.m. Friday to deal with the political crisis.
Meanwhile, the Israeli leader’s office said Netanyahu’s talks with Sunak and other British officials would center on the rapidly advancing nuclear program of Israel’s archenemy, Iran.
“At the center of their meeting will be … the need to form a unified international front against Iran with the goal of stopping the nuclear program,” his office said in a statement.
Israeli media reported that signs appeared around London in recent days saying “Bibi should not expect a relaxing weekend in London” and that there were plans for protests in the city both against the judicial overhaul and Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.
