Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his coalition partners on Monday that he may pause a very controversial plan to overhaul the judicial system, according to Israeli media.
Israel’s President Issac Herzog called on Netanyahu to cancel the plans to make changes to the judiciary, which has sparked mass protests and strikes in Israel.
“Last night we witnessed difficult scenes…Our security, economy, society — all are under threat,” he said in a statement.
“For the sake of the unity of the People of Israel, for the sake of the necessary responsibility, I call on you to halt the legislative process immediately,” the statement added.
On Sunday evening, Netanyahu fired the country’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant just one day after Gallant broke ranks by calling on the government to halt the judicial reform plans that have thrown the country into turmoil.
אני קורא לכל המפגינים בירושלים, מימין ומשמאל, לנהוג באחריות ולא לפעול באלימות. אנשים אחים אנחנו.
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 27, 2023
Following the announcement, Israel was paralyzed after hundreds of thousands of people decided to go on a general strike to protest Netanyahu’s decision.
According to Israeli media, Netanyahu was supposed to deliver a speech to the nation in the morning but TV stations later said that these plans had been suspended.
Netanyahu appealed for calm on Twitter, as the risk of clashes between supporters and opponents of the government’s reform increased.
“I call on all the demonstrators in Jerusalem, on the right and the left, to behave responsibly and not to act violently. We are brothers,” Netanyahu tweeted.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
