Israeli PM, Biden exchange frosty words over legal overhaul

By ILAN BEN ZION
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel makes its own decisions, rebuffing President Joe Biden’s suggestion that that the premier drop a contentious plan to overhaul the legal system. Netanyahu responded on Wednesday to Biden’s nudge to find compromise in the plan after it sparked unprecedented protests and polarized Israelis. The prime minister says the country is sovereign and makes “decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from best friends.” Biden’s comments came a day after Netanyahu called for a halt to his government’s contentious legislation “to avoid civil war” in the wake of two consecutive days of mass protests.