Benjamin Netanyahu loose ballast. The Israeli Prime Minister announced on Monday, March 27, a “pause” in the process of adopting the justice reform under consideration in Parliament, and contested in the street for nearly three months.
In an address to the nation after political consultations with some partners in the ruling coalition, Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the final adoption of the various reform bills was postponed until the next parliamentary session to open after the holidays Passover (April 5 to 13), thus yielding in part to the demands of opponents.
A crowd, estimated at 80,000 demonstrators according to Israeli media, gathered on Monday afternoon around the Parliament in Jerusalem to protest against the reform. A counter-demonstration, the first of its kind, was held not far from there, in front of the Supreme Court, bringing together several thousand people, according to an AFP journalist. Other protests against the reform took place in Tel Aviv and Haifa, in northern Israel.
End of the general strike
This Monday evening, the “Histadrout”, the first Israeli trade union center, finally announced the end of the general strike declared in the morning, in reaction to the government’s announcement of the slowdown in the legislative process concerning the reform.
Thousands of people took to the streets in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening after Benjamin Netanyahu sacked his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, who the previous day had publicly pleaded for a pause in reform, expressing fears for Israel’s security.
These fears are linked to the massive participation of army reservists in the protest movement and their commitment not to go to training and not to serve their reserve periods in the event of a vote on judicial reform.