Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has called on the government to "freeze the judicial reforms for 18 months as a condition for resuming negotiations on an agreed-upon framework for the reforms." Lapid stated via his official account on X (formerly Twitter) that "such a freeze requires legislation from both the opposition and the government."
"The only possible solution, and the only thing that will allow a return to dialogue, is a freeze in legislation. The government and the opposition need to jointly legislate a freeze of 18 months. As long as there is no freeze in legislation, there is no point and no logic in discussing other laws or agreements, because it is completely clear that the government will escape again at the last moment." — Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) July 30, 2023
In a speech before the Knesset on Sunday, he emphasized that if the government wants to resume talks aimed at finding consensus, it must pass legislation with the opposition to halt its reforms for 18 months. He explained that changes during this period would require a two-thirds majority.
He added, "If the government wants to reach a broad consensus, the responsibility to prove that falls on it." He continued, "As long as there is no freeze on legislation, there will be no benefit or logic in discussing other laws or other agreements, as it is abundantly clear that the government will flee again at the last moment."
In response, the Likud party, led by Prime Minister Netanyahu, stated that it is willing to negotiate but claimed that Lapid, who briefly served as prime minister last year, is demanding more conditions than what he might impose on the Palestinians.
Last week, the right-wing governing coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu passed the first part of the judicial reforms in Israel, attempting to prevent judges from challenging certain government decisions. These moves have sparked protests from Israeli opponents for months. Netanyahu, who was urged by the Israeli president to seek consensus, had paused the reforms earlier in the year to negotiate with the opposition. However, after those talks collapsed, Netanyahu moved forward and passed the legislation last week in a vote boycotted by the opposition.
