Israeli PM has one week to answer contempt claim: top court

OCCUPIED-AL-QUDS: Israel´s Supreme Court on Sunday gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu one week to respond to contempt of court accusations filed by a non-governmental organisation.

The complaint by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, an anti-corruption group, stems from Netanyahu´s televised address on Thursday night. He vowed to “responsibly advance” controversial judicial reforms pushed by his government and “end the rift” they have caused in the nation.

Around 200,000 protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday to oppose the reforms, Israeli media reported, and high-level officials have called for a pause in the project. Detractors see it as threatening Israel´s democracy, but the government argues changes are needed to rebalance powers between lawmakers and the judiciary.

Netanyahu is on trial over charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, which he denies. The NGO´s complaint, seen by AFP, alleges Netanyahu violated an agreement with the court that an accused prime minister does not have the right to act in a matter that could constitute a conflict of interest.