The Biden administration considers it "unfortunate" that the Israeli parliament ratified part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contested judicial overhaul plan on Monday, a White House National Security Council spokesperson said.
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"We believe that for major democratic changes, you need to work for consensus," the US official said. "We urge Israeli leaders to work toward a consensus-based approach through political dialogue."
Video: Clashes in Jerusalem / Yori Yalon
"It's a sad day," Opposition leader Yair Lapid said after the vote. "This is not a victory for the Coalition. This is the destruction of Israeli democracy."
In Monday's vote, lawmakers approved a measure that prevents judges from striking down government decisions on the basis that they are "unreasonable."
With the Opposition out of the hall, the measure passed by a 64-0 margin.
After the vote, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the architect of the plan, said parliament had taken the "first step in an important historic process" of overhauling the judiciary.
More mass protests are now expected, and the Movement for Quality Government, a civil society group, immediately announced it would challenge the new law in the Supreme Court. The grassroots protest movement condemned the vote, saying Netanyahu's "government of extremists is showing their determination to jam their fringe ideology down the throats of millions of citizens."
"No one can predict the extent of damage and social upheaval that will follow the passage of the legislation," it said.
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