Teams of negotiators representing Israel’s government and some opposition parties met at the official residence of President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on Tuesday night for the start of talks on judicial reform, the president’s office announced.
The first round of negotiations lasted for one hour and were held in “good spirits,” according to the announcement. The negotiations between the government coalition and the opposition parties Yesh Atid and National Unity began nearly 24 hours after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced in a nationally televised address that he would pause the judicial reform legislation making its way through the country’s parliament out of a sense of “national responsibility” and the desire to prevent a “civil war.” Herzog immediately called on party leaders to set up negotiating teams in order to begin talks. Netanyahu said he would suspend the legislation but said that the reform will take place and that it will again be taken up and approved during the Knesset’s summer session, which runs from April 29 – July 30.
Herzog has been actively calling for discussions and compromise over the controversial legislation, including introducing a compromise proposal that was rejected by both sides.