Israeli PM Netanyahu rejects economists' warnings on judicial reforms

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Israeli PM Netanyahu rejects economists' warnings on judicial reforms

Israel's Prime Minsiter-designate Benjamin Netanyahu presents the new government to the Knesset in Jerusalem on December 29, 2022 in what analysts describe as the most right-wing coalition in Israel's history. AMIR COHEN POOL AFP JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rejected senior economists' warnings about the impact of his government's plan to overhaul the judiciary.

In a press conference on Israel's main TV channels, Netanyahu said that the planned judicial reforms' harm to the country's economy are a tsunami of lies. He said that the reforms will boost economic growth and will not harm the economy.

ALSO READ: Israel Supreme Court tells Netanyahu he must fire the minister.

Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, took office in December of last year as Israel's most right-wing government. The Supreme Court's ability to overturn laws passed by the parliament or government would be limited because of the legislative reforms that are still in the legislative process.

Some 270 Israeli economists, including a Nobel laureate, senior university professors, and former senior directors of Israel's central bank, warned in an emergency letter that the judicial overhaul will cause unprecedented damage to the Israeli economy. READ MORE: Israel's Netanyahu defends the plan to rein in the judiciary.

It came a day after Amir Yaron, the Bank of Israel's governor, warned Netanyahu of the potential effects of the reforms, and gave him warnings from senior executives from credit rating firms at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week.