Biden calls Israel’s Netanyahu with judicial plan ‘concern’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden (Michel Euler/AP)

US President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express “concern” over his government’s planned overhaul of the country’s judicial system that has sparked widespread protests across Israel and to encourage compromise.

The White House said Mr Biden reiterated US concerns about the measure to roll back the judiciary’s insulation from the country’s political system, in a call a senior administration official described as candid and constructive. There was no immediate indication that Mr Netanyahu was shying away from the action, after rejecting a compromise last week offered by the country’s figurehead president.