Hospitalised Netanyahu prepares for reform vote
Last-ditch efforts to reach a compromise dragged into the night as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to put a key plank of his government's controversial judicial reforms to the vote on Monday after undergoing surgery to fit a pacemaker. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Jerusalem to oppose Netanyahu's proposal to curb the powers of judges, which critics fear will undermine Israel's democracy, as lawmakers debated the bill late into Sunday night. Demonstrators backing the government and its reform plans rallied in Tel Aviv, the epicentre of 29 straight weeks of anti-government protests. A vote is expected in the Knesset on Monday on the draft law which would limit Supreme Court judges' ability to strike down government decisions they deem "unreasonable." As the crisis looked set to come to a head, President Isaac Herzog returned from a visit to the United States and drove directly to the Sheba Medical Centre for a meeting with Netanyahu late on Sunday. The premier had been rushed to the hospital near Tel Aviv late on Saturday for surgery to fit the pacemaker. "This is a time of emergency. An agreement must be reached," Herzog said in a statement issued by his office. Herzog later met with opposition chief Yair Lapid and was also due to confer with another opposition figure, Benny Gantz. (AFP)