Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has begun talks with senior US officials with regard to Israel's highly contested judicial reform and assured them that the legislation will be reached "through dialogue and negotiations."

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Cohen spoke with Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Israel's biggest supporters in Congress on Wednesday, and is expected to talk with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday.

Video: White House

In his talk with Graham, Cohen reportedly stressed the need for "broad national consensus. We are facing a great challenge of restoring public trust in Israeli democracy."

He also noted that "Israel should work together with the US to clarify the issues over which the two countries disagree. We need to work together to strengthen our ties that are based on shared values and interests. It is vital on Israel's part to expand the Abraham Accords." The foreign minister stressed that Israel remained "a strong democracy and the demonstrations are the very proof of that."

Cohen expressed hope that an agreement on judicial reform would be reached in the near future.

Following the Israel Hayom report, Cohen issued the following statement: "There is dialogue aimed at reaching an agreement, but we are in any case committed to passing the reform that would strengthen Israel's democracy."

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Zilberman was responding to a Twitter message in which Katz had said that Kochavi was behind the decision to discard the policy of ambiguity about Israeli airstrikes to counter Iranian drone activity in Syria.

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After Israel announced that it had carried out the strike in question, opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that he had made the activity public in an attempt to score election points.

Katz, a member of the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet, wrote: "Yesterday, the chief of staff made it unequivocally clear that he was behind the public announcement [about the activity], for completely professional reasons."

Katz said in his tweet that No. 2 on the Blue and White list, Yair Lapid, had attacked the government for the decision and said the announcement was why Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah had decided to retaliate by firing a missile over the northern border at the community of Avivim. No one was injured in the retaliatory attack.

Zilberman chided the foreign minister for making the content of cabinet discussions public, saying, "The IDF keeps cabinet discussions secret."

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Katz, who was announced as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's replacement after Israel's general election on Sept. 17 ended in deadlock, began his speech by thanking US President Donald Trump for his support of Israel before launching into a condemnation of Israel's greatest antagonists in the region.

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Addressing the Palestinians, Katz urged leaders in Ramallah "to stop incitement … and financing terrorism."

He also called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to recognize "the right of the Jewish people to its own state" and "to come back to direct negotiations without any pre-conditions."

#BREAKING: In address at #UNGA, #Israel's Foreign Minister @Israel_katz thanks #Trump for his support of #Israel and declares "no one can separate the #Jewish people from their homeland." https://t.co/yje5vCIVzg pic.twitter.com/yvThM1WpY9

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) September 26, 2019

The foreign minister also urged Hamas, the ruling authority in the Gaza Strip, to release "two Israeli citizens, Avraham Mengistu and Hisham Al-Sayed, and the bodies of two Israeli soldiers, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul," from their custody.

In addition, Katz issued a condemnation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who earlier in the UNGA accused Israel of stealing Palestinian land while questioning the country's sovereign borders.

At UNGA, #Israel's FM @Israel_Katz points to #Tehran as the world's largest sponsor of terror, calling on the int'l community to "stop #Iran today, to prevent war tomorrow." https://t.co/yje5vCIVzg pic.twitter.com/XfRoNQFHaB

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) September 26, 2019

"The other day I heard Erdoğan attack Israel and I want to say to him: You, that brutally oppress the Turkish people, slaughter the Kurdish minority and support the terror organization Hamas – you are the last one that can lecture Israel. You are not the Sultan and Turkey is not the Ottoman Empire. Shame on you," Katz said.

But Katz saved his harshest critique for the Islamic Republic of Iran, who he called the "main problem threatening stability, and security in the Middle East," and accused Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of giving the "direct orders" to attack several Saudi oil facilities from Yemen earlier this month.

"Iran is the biggest terror state, and the biggest 'sponsor of terror' in the world," Katz said. "I call on the international community to unite in order to stop Iran."

During the live address, the camera panned to a row of empty seats revealing no Iranian officials were present to hear Katz speak. During Rouhani's address on Wednesday, Israeli officials were also not in attendance.

This article was originally published by i24NEWS.

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