Israeli group asks court to punish Netanyahu over legal plan

Israeli police used water cannon to disperse people in Tel Aviv protesting against plans by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judicial system (Ariel Schalit/AP)

An Israeli good governance group has asked the country’s supreme court to punish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allegedly violating a conflict of interest agreement meant to prevent him from dealing with the country’s judiciary while he is on trial for corruption.

The request by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel intensifies a developing showdown between Mr Netanyahu’s government and the judiciary, which it is trying to overhaul in a contentious plan that has sparked widespread opposition.