Labor party says it is pulling out of judicial overhaul talks mediated by president

The Labor party announces that it is pulling out of talks brokered by President Isaac Herzog aimed at reaching a broad agreement over the judicial overhaul legislation.

In a letter to Herzog, the party’s delegation — made up of MKs Efrat Rayten and Gilad Kariv, former justice minister Avi Nissenkorn and Dr. Tamar Hostovsky Brandes — says that its members are choosing not to continue in the talks after learning about “conversations taking place in the dark and deals being made far from the public eye, without our involvement.”

The party also cites Likud Minister David Amsalem’s comments last night calling for Supreme Court President Esther Hayut to be put on trial.

“In view of these patterns of conduct, there is no point to us continuing our attempt to participate in the talks held at the President’s Residence,” the party concludes, noting that it joined the talks initially “despite great skepticism” about the government’s intention to negotiate, but did so out of a “sense of national responsibility.”

In response, a spokesperson for Herzog says that the president “will continue to be open to anyone who wishes to be part of the negotiations, in order to reach as broad an agreement as possible.”