US rejects role in Israel protests after Netanyahu son accusations

WASHINGTON

The US said Monday that accusations it is behind widespread social unrest in Israel are "completely and demonstratively false" after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's son alleged Washington's involvement.

"Any notion that we are propping up or supporting these protests or the initiators of them is completely and demonstratively false," State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.

Yair Netanyahu on Friday retweeted a post on Twitter suggesting the Biden administration is secretly supporting the demonstrations in order to overthrow his father. Another post he retweeted included an article from the far-right Breitbat news website suggesting the State Department is fomenting unrest in order to bring Israel to negotiations with Iran.

Israel has seen mass protests over the past 12 weeks against plans by Benjamin Netanyahu's government for judicial reform, seen by the opposition as an attempt to reduce the powers of the judicial authority in favor of the executive.

Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption and who agreed to delay the reform on Monday, insists that his judicial plan would enhance democracy and would restore the balance between the legislative, executive, and judicial powers.

Patel acknowledged funding the Israeli Movement for Quality Government NGO, saying it "received a modest grant from the State Department that was initiated during the previous administration, and the latest dispersal of funds came in September of 2022."

The charges that it is behind the unrest, however, "are completely and demonstratively false," said Patel.