JERUSALEM, July 28 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said parliament's decision to trim Supreme Court powers to overrule government actions as part of his planned judicial overhaul would not hurt Israel's democracy.
Now in its seventh month, the crisis escalated on Monday after parliament passed the first of the changes, trimming Supreme Court powers to overrule government actions and raising fears for the court's independence.
While Netanyahu downplayed the consequences of his plans, air force chief, Tomer Bar, warned the crisis could be exploited by Israel's enemies.
Political watchdog groups have appealed to the Supreme Court to strike the new law, paving the way to a showdown among branches of government when it hears the arguments in September.
The prime minister says the changes will balance government branches.
Persons:
Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, It's, Tomer, Michael Georgy, Tomasz Janowski
Organizations:
ABC News, CNN, Thomson