WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden spoke 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 Biden reiterated U.S. 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 Netanyahu was shying away from the action, after rejecting a compromise last week offered by the country's figurehead president.
The official, who requested anonymity to discuss the leaders' private call, said that Biden stressed to Netanyahu that "reforms like this should carry as broad consensus as possible."
Netanyahu said Sunday the legal changes would be carried out responsibly while protecting the basic rights of all Israelis. His government — the country's most right-wing ever — says the overhaul is meant to correct an imbalance that has given the courts too much power and prevented lawmakers from carrying out the voting public's will.
Critics say it will upend Israel's delicate system of checks and balances and slide the country toward authoritarianism. Opponents of the measure have carried out disruptive protests, and has even embroiled the country's military, after more than 700 elite officers from the Air Force, special forces, and Mossad said they would stop volunteering for duty.
Israelis on Saturday took to the streets in protests, now in their 11th week, saying the proposed changes undermine the country's democracy by restricting the power of the Supreme Court.
The main protest in the central city of Tel Aviv drew tens of thousands of people who waved Israeli flags and traffic sign banners that read "Dead End!" and "Risk Ahead!" Smaller protests were reported in other parts of the country.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu swiftly rejected a compromise proposal by Israeli President Isaac Herzog to resolve the standoff, deepening the crisis over a program that has roiled the country and drawn international criticism.
READ MORE: Why is Israel pushing ahead with its legal overhaul?
Israeli police deployed a water cannon to disperse protesters gathered at a main junction in Karkur, a town in northern Israel.
A video obtained by The Associated Press showed the water canon spraying at protesters as they chanted "Democracy," in Hebrew. It was not immediately clear if anyone was injured.
Netanyahu and his ultranationalist and religious coalition allies have pledged to plow ahead with the legal changes despite the demonstrations.
The conversation between Biden and Netanyahu followed a Sunday meeting in Egypt between Israeli and Palestinian officials in which they pledged to take steps to lower tensions ahead of a sensitive holiday season. Administration officials praised the outcome of the summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. A joint communique said the sides had reaffirmed a commitment to de-escalate and prevent further violence.
The Israeli and Palestinian delegations met for the second time in less than a month, shepherded by regional allies Egypt and Jordan, as well as the United States, to end a yearlong spasm of violence.
READ MORE: Attack in West Bank town casts shadow over ongoing Israeli-Palestinian talks
More than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, and more than 40 Israelis or foreigners have been killed in Palestinian attacks during that time. These include pledges to stop unilateral actions, it said. Israel pledged to stop discussion of new settlement construction for four months, and to stop plans to legalize unauthorized settlement outposts for six months.
"The two sides agreed to establish a mechanism to curb and counter violence, incitement and inflammatory states and actions," the communique said. The sides would report on progress at a follow-up meeting in Egypt next month, it added.
The Biden administration remains concerned about a repeat of the nightly clashes and other violent incidents between Palestinians and Israelis in Jerusalem during Ramadan two years ago. Clashes at the Temple Mount in 2021 helped trigger an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.
Under longstanding arrangements, Jews are allowed to visit the site but not pray there. But in recent years, the number of visitors has grown, with some quietly praying. Such scenes have raised fears among Palestinians that Israel is trying to alter the status quo.
Madhani reported from Washington.