Israel parliament begins mammoth judicial overhaul session with Netanyahu in hospital

After six months of street protests, parliamentary maneuvering, compromise talks and increasingly urgent pleas from Washington DC, Israeli lawmakers Sunday morning began debating the first judicial reform bill to come up for a final vote.

The move comes with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in hospital, having been fitted with a pacemaker.

Netanyahu has been pressing on with his plans for the judicial system after pausing them earlier this year in the face of widespread protests and international pressure.

He and his allies call the measures "reforms" and say they are required to rebalance powers between the courts, lawmakers and the government.

Opponents of the plan call it a coup and say it threatens to turn Israel into a dictatorship by removing the most significant check on government actions.

So many lawmakers have requested time to speak about the so-called reasonableness bill that the debate is scheduled to last for 26 hours, starting at 10am local time Sunday morning and lasting until noon the following day (3aET on Sunday until 5aET on Monday).

It's the first part of the multi-pronged judicial overhaul plan to get to a final vote in the Knesset, and could be voted into law in on Monday evening.