Israel's Netanyahu defends proposed justice reform

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday rejected accusations that his government's judicial reforms would undermine democracy.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin has announced a series of measures which would allow politicians to override Supreme Court decisions and change the way judges are appointed.

An open letter published on Thursday by 11 former prosecutors said the reforms threaten to destroy Israel's judiciary.

The same day, the country's top judge, in rare public criticism, called the planned overhaul an "unbridled attack", while hundreds of lawyers rallied outside a Tel Aviv court in protest.

Netanyahu, who is being tried for corruption, rejected the claims, saying: "When they said that the least modification (of the justice system) is the destruction of democracy, this is not only an erroneous argument."

"It is also an argument that doesn't allow the reaching of agreements that we should reach through dialogue," he added, in comments issued by video.

Netanyahu, already Israel's longest-serving prime minister, returned to power in late December to head the most right-wing government in Israel's history.

Supreme Court president Esther Hayut had told a legal conference Thursday that "the justice minister's new plan is not one to fix the legal system, but to crush it."

The proposed measures, if adopted by parliament, would hand more powers to members of the legislature in appointing judges.

Israeli judges are currently picked through a panel of magistrates, lawyers and politicians, under the supervision of the justice ministry.

The justice minister has also proposed a "derogation clause" which would allow parliament to annul a Supreme Court decision with a simple majority vote.

Some within the new government allege the judiciary has accumulated too much authority.

Analysts say such a clause could allow lawmakers to uphold any annulment of the corruption charges Netanyahu is being tried on, should parliament vote to absolve him and the Supreme Court then rule against it.

Netanyahu is the first sitting Israeli prime minister indicted while in office. He denies the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Levin, a lawyer, said he had thought about his judicial reform for two decades.