(OTTAWA) Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is urging Israel to abandon its controversial reform of the justice system, after two months of major protests.
According to an official account of a conversation Ms. Joly had with her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, the minister emphasized “Canada’s support for democracy, the rule of law and the institutions that underpin them.” .
A Global Affairs Canada source familiar with the interview said Minister Joly specifically highlighted Israel’s judicial reform. Ms. Joly reportedly said the country should only implement reforms that have popular support.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has so far rejected any compromise to resolve the impasse over his plans to reform the country’s judicial system, which would allow parliament to overturn a Supreme Court ruling.
The proposed change, which has also been criticized by US President Joe Biden, would concentrate power in Israel in the hands of the parliamentary coalition led by Mr. Netanyahu. According to the Israeli president, this reform is necessary to counter what he considers to be excessive power entrusted to unelected judges.
Minister Joly also reportedly denounced, during this interview, “unilateral gestures that undermine peace efforts”, such as Israel’s expansion of Jewish settlements, which are illegal under international law.