Israeli President Herzog meets with Netanyahu, Lapid, Gantz, calls to start ‘immediate’ negotiations

“Stopping the legislation is the right move. This is the time to begin a sincere, serious, and responsible dialogue that will lower the flames.”

By World Israel News Staff

President Isaac Herzog spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and opposition figures Yair Lapid, and Benny Gantz, urging them to begin an “immediate process of negotiation” to arrive at a “broad consensus” for the judicial reform.

Herzog called on each side to form negotiation teams to begin talks.

“Stopping the legislation is the right move. This is the time to begin a sincere, serious, and responsible dialogue that will lower the flames,” Herzog said.

“For the sake of our unity and for the sake of our children’s future, we must start talking, here and now. The President’s Residence, the People’s Home, is a space for dialogue and the establishment of consensus that is as broad as possible, that will usher Israel out of this state of crisis,” he said.

National Unity leader Gantz told Netanyahu he welcomed the prime minister’s decision to delay the reform.

Gantz called on the prime minister to reconsider his decision to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after the latter called to halt the judicial reform.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid responded to Netanyahu’s announcement by expressing hope that negotiations would end with establishing a formal constitution, but expressed doubt at Netanyahu’s authenticity.

“If the legislation really does stop, really and totally, we are ready to start genuine dialogue at the President’s Residence,” Lapid said.

“We need to sit together and write the Israeli constitution based on the values of the Declaration of Independence. We need to let the president determine a process for the dialogue and trust him to be an impartial mediator.”