Netanyahu allies in Israel plow ahead on legal overhaul

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political allies are pressing ahead with their plan to overhaul the judiciary. The coalition advanced a bill Monday that would protect the long-serving leader from calls that he be removed from office over his corruption charges. The government has pledged to plow ahead with the legal changes despite widespread opposition. The steps were the latest in a series of legislation seen by critics as concentrating power in the ruling coalition’s hands. They say the measures will erode the country’s delicate system of checks and balances and undermine Israeli democracy.