Judicial compromise saboteurs will be judged harshly – Herzog

Netanyahu wants to reach a compromise, specific lawmakers are intentionally torpedoing talks and will be responsible for fate of Israel’s most serious internal crisis, says Israeli president.

By World Israel News Staff

President Isaac Herzog hinted that certain political parties or figures were not being reasonable during negotiations aimed at achieving a compromise agreement for the judicial overhaul and said that those sabotaging the discussions would bear a “historic responsibility” for the fate of the country.

Herzog told Channel 13 News that if the discussions are not successful and no compromise is reached, he “knows who is to blame,” adding that “this historic responsibility needs to be recorded somewhere.”

Left-wing figures have claimed that Netanyahu is using the talks as an opportunity to buy time. They argue that he has no intention to soften the overhaul and rather wants to wait until public furor and protests over the legislation dies down before passing the reforms.

Herzog told Channel 13 that he rejects that narrative and is confident that Netanyahu genuinely wishes to obtain a compromise on the issue.

“I’m convinced he wants to reach a compromise,” Herzog said.

“No one is using me,” he added. “That phrase is incorrect — I have a great appreciation for Netanyahu. I think that he is a brilliant man who has done great things as prime minister. I don’t want to talk about the current period, because whatever I say will be construed as political.”

Echoing his earlier comments, Herzog told Kan News that specific lawmakers were attempting to “pull the rug” on the compromise discussions.

He reiterated his warning that “whoever tries to harm the talks will carry the burden of historic responsibility for the fate of the state and the nation.”

Herzog said that the vehement clashes over the overhaul, which have seen hundreds of thousands of Israelis take to the streets in protest and an unprecedented labor strike that brought the Israeli economy to a virtual halt, constituted “the most serious internal crisis in the country’s history.”