President Joe Biden expressed his concerns over tensions in Israel to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a private phone call.
Biden told Netanyahu on Sunday that he had never seen tensions so high in Israel, and he urged the Israeli prime minister to find a compromise quickly, two sources familiar with the matter told Axios.
ISRAEL'S NETANYAHU MAKES FIRST CONCESSION IN CONTROVERSIAL JUDICIAL OVERHAUL EFFORT
A U.S. president commenting on the internal affairs of its Middle Eastern ally is almost unheard of, possibly signaling the severity of the situation.
In response, Netanyahu told the president that he is doing his best to attempt to solve the issue but that he needs more space and time. He added that he "doesn't want to fix one imbalance by creating another imbalance."
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Soon after, Netanyahu met with the heads of the ruling coalition parties. They announced some concessions to the controversial judicial reform plans, but the opposition said the concessions weren't adequate and pledged to continue protesting.
Israel has been in a state of high tension over the last two months. The conflict was sparked when Netanyahu's government introduced controversial legislation to overhaul how the country chooses judges and allow the Knesset to overrule Supreme Court decisions through a simple majority. It's estimated that over half a million Israelis have taken to the streets to protest the plan, and some dissent has been noted in the military.