Israeli PM rebuffs Biden’s suggestion he ‘walk away’ from legal overhaul

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was sovereign and made decisions ‘by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad’ (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuffed US president Joe Biden’s suggestion that the premier “walks away” from a contentious plan to overhaul the legal system, saying the country made its own decisions.

The exchange was a rare bout of public disagreement between the two close allies and signals building friction between Israel and the US over Mr Netanyahu’s judicial changes, which he postponed after mass protests.