Netanyahu to Presidents Conference: “There’s Not Going to be a Civil War” Over Judicial Reform

Netanyahu to Presidents Conference: “There’s Not Going to be a Civil War” Over Judicial Reform

Predicts full diplomatic ties and trade with Saudi Arabia

Edited by: TJVNews.com

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a veiled response Sunday to comments made by US Ambassador Thomas Nides on the Israeli government’s judicial reform plan, emphasizing Israel’s sovereign right to reform its court system, as was reported by Israel National News.

“In case you haven’t noticed, Israel is in the midst of a little debate on judicial reform,” Netanyahu said at the Inbal Hotel in Jerusalem at an event sponsored by the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, the report said.

INN reported that Netanyahu said:“I’d love to speak to you at length, and tell you that you shouldn’t worry. I’d just like to tell you three things. First: Israel is a democracy and will remain a democracy, with majority rule and proper safeguards for civil liberties. The second thing: All democracies should respect the will of other free peoples, just as we respect their democratic decisions.”

“The third is that there has been a lot of rhetoric that is frankly reckless and dangerous, including calls for bloodshed in the streets and calls for civil war, “ Netanyahu added. “It ain’t gonna happen, there’s not going to be a civil war.”

The comment appeared to come as a response to Nides’ comments suggesting Israel should slow its efforts to reform the judicial system, INN reported. Over the weekend, Ambassador Nides told CNN’s “The Axe Files” podcast that the Israeli government should “pump the brakes” on its judicial reform plan.

World Israel News reported that Nides made a number of revealing statements regarding the Biden administration’s policies towards Israel during the CNN podcast interview.

Nides said that he spends the majority of his time helping Palestinians and that he believes Israel’s Arab allies should be vocal in condemning the recent legalization of nine Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria during the interview, WIN reported.

WIN also reported that Nides furthered the “cycle of violence” narrative regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, appearing to create a moral equivalency between Palestinian terror and IDF anti-terror efforts.

“I spend 60% of my time trying to help the Palestinian people,” Nides told podcast host David Axelrod, a former senior advisor to Barack Obama, according to the WIN report. This admission is unusual, considering that Nides is a diplomat who is ostensibly serving as the U.S. representative to Israel, not the Palestinians, the report noted.

He referenced the Biden administration’s decision to restore funding to the Palestinian Authority, which had been frozen by former President Donald Trump. Notably, since Biden sent approximately $1 billion to the PA and other Palestinian entities, Israeli deaths from terror attacks have risen by a staggering 900%, WIN reported.

Netanyahu also said Israel is making strides towards a “quantum leap” in regional relations, which he predicted would culminate in full diplomatic ties and trade with Saudi Arabia.

The prime minister also warned of the danger of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons – a danger that has brought Israel closer to former enemies across the Middle East, INN reported.

“If Iran achieves its goals of reaching nuclear weapons it puts the future of Israel at risk, it puts the future of world peace at risk. There has been a growing understanding among the world leaders, and a growing understanding between the US and Israel of the dangers of Iran.”

“Israel will do what it has to do to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu added.

INN reported that Netanyahu touted the Abraham Accords not only as a bulwark against Iran, but also as proof that Israel can secure peace with the Arab world without a final status agreement with the Palestinian Authority.

“The premise used to be that you cannot expand the peace with the Arab countries with the Arab world without first having peace with the Palestinians. Now, there’s only one problem. The Palestinians don’t want peace with Israel. They want peace without Israel.”

“The simple truth is that the reason this conflict has not been solved is the Palestinian leadership’s refusal to recognize the Jewish state, “ Netanyahu said, INN reported.