BERLIN (AP) 鈥 German Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced concern about the Israeli government's planned overhaul of the country's judicial system as he hosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, offering praise for efforts by Israel's president to seek a 鈥渂road basic consensus.鈥
Netanyahu met with German leaders in Berlin the day after Israeli President Isaac Herzog unveiled a compromise proposal for overhauling the legal system, an approach that .
Lower-level German officials already had voiced concern about the , which would allow parliament to overturn Supreme Court decisions and give Netanyahu's parliamentary coalition the final say over all judicial appointments.
Germany is a close ally of Israel in Europe and has tended to refrain from strong public criticism of its government.
鈥淎s close friends of Israel with shared democratic values, we are following this debate very closely, and I cannot hide the fact that we鈥檙e following it with great concern,鈥 Scholz said at a news conference alongside Netanyahu. 鈥淭he independence of the judiciary is a precious democratic asset. We agree on that.鈥
鈥淚t is good and valuable that President Herzog talked to a large of actors in society in order to counter a further polarization of Israel,鈥 Scholz said. 鈥淎llow me to add that I think this search for a broad basic consensus is right and important.鈥
Of Herzog's suggestion, Scholz said: 鈥淎s friends of Israel, we would like the last word not to have to have been spoken on this proposal.鈥
Netanyahu showed no sign of being swayed. 鈥淚srael was, is and will remain a liberal society,鈥 he said.
The prime minister argued that appeals for discussions with the Israeli opposition were 鈥渕et with complete refusal鈥 and that 鈥渢here is a desire to reach a moment of crisis, perhaps a governmental breakdown, a search for new elections.鈥
"If that continues, that's regrettable, but we will do whatever we think is the right thing to achieve something that corrects the imbalance that exists today between the branches of government and yet, at the same time, could over time be accepted as the best solution for Israel in line with my principles of keeping Israel a liberal, balanced democracy,鈥 Netanyahu said.
The leader of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, met Netanyahu himself earlier Thursday. Schuster said he voiced concern to the prime minister that 鈥渉is government is increasingly dividing Israeli society and is squandering confidence in democratic Israel,鈥 German news agency dpa reported.
Around 500 Israelis protested at Berlin鈥檚 landmark Brandenburg Gate, waving Israeli flags, singing and holding up banners against Netanyahu's visit.
鈥淗e is destroying our democracy for the sake of staying out of jail,鈥 Nasich Philip, a project manager in construction who moved to Berlin nine years ago, said. "He is sacrificing the whole country to protect himself and his family.鈥
Germany and Israel share concerns about Iran's nuclear activities. Netanyahu has threatened military action against Iran鈥檚 nuclear program as it enriches .
Germany is one of the world powers that entered a 2015 deal with Tehran to address concern about Iran's nuclear ambitions. The agreement unraveled after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States.
鈥淭he Jewish state will do everything necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, period,鈥 Netanyahu said, without giving details.
鈥淥ur hope is that we will ultimately succeed in preventing this with a diplomatic solution,鈥 Scholz said.
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Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this report.
