Despite the announced halt to judicial reform in Israel, opponents of the plans want to continue their protest. “We will not stop the demonstrations until the judicial coup is completely stopped,” said the organizers of the resistance on the street on Monday evening. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement only serves to dupe the population “in order to weaken the protest and then establish a dictatorship”.
Several rallies are planned for Tuesday. In the evening, following massive protests and several crisis talks, Netanyahu announced that he would suspend implementation of the controversial plans for a few weeks in order to “make room for dialogue” and “avoid a civil war”. For around three months, tens of thousands, sometimes several hundred thousand people, have been taking to the streets once morest the plans of his right-wing religious government to weaken the independent judiciary.
The protest continued nationwide into Tuesday night. There were clashes with the police in several cities. In the coastal city of Tel Aviv, demonstrators temporarily blocked an important road connecting to Jerusalem. According to media reports, there were two dozen arrests nationwide by the evening. In some cases, the police used stun grenades and water cannons to crack down on the demonstrators.
The first talks between Netanyahu and the opposition took place in the evening. As several media reported, the head of government first met with former Secretary of Defense Benny Gantz. He therefore asked Netanyahu to leave his successor Yoav Galant in office. This is “essential for national security” and might help calm the situation. Netanyahu said he had dismissed Galant on Sunday following the defense minister publicly called for the reform to be halted. According to media reports, however, no official letter of dismissal has yet been sent to him.
There was disagreement in the opposition over whether to open a dialogue with Netanyahu’s government. Opposition leader Jair Lapid was basically willing to talk. “If the legislation is truly and completely stopped, we are ready to start a real dialogue at the President’s residence,” Lapid said. Nonetheless, he cast doubt on the seriousness of Netanyahu’s offer.
The leader of the opposition Labor Party, Meirav Michaeli, saw little reason for a compromise along the lines of the prime minister. “The fight and the protest must be continued and intensified,” she stressed. Netanyahu only wanted to buy time with his statements, but ultimately wanted to implement exactly what so many people in the country were afraid of.
After large parts of economic life came to a standstill on Monday due to a general strike in protest once morest the reform, a return to normal operations was expected on Tuesday. The Israeli Airport Authority announced that normal take-offs and landings would resume at Ben Gurion Airport. The workers’ union took part in a nationwide strike on Monday, which led to several flight cancellations. Numerous workers in other sectors had also resigned from their jobs following being called by the umbrella organization of trade unions.
