Massive protests erupted across Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister for speaking out against his controversial judicial overhaul plan.
Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Sunday, in anger over the decision, blocking highways, lighting bonfires and scuffles breaking out between police and demonstrators outside Netanyahu’s private residence in Jerusalem.
Recent reports from Israeli media indicated that Netanyahu is likely to announce a pause in his judicial overhaul plan, despite opposition from some of his ministers, including the far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who are urging him not to give in. However, pressure is mounting on Netanyahu, with the country’s main labor union announcing a general strike and demanding the prime minister withdraw his plan.
Protests due to overhaul plan and dismissal of Gallant
The protests, which are a response to Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary, have been ongoing for months, with business leaders, former security chiefs, and the United States expressing concern over the plan. However, Netanyahu’s decision to dismiss Defense Minister Yoav Gallant deepened the crisis, with protesters demanding that the prime minister pause the judicial overhaul plan.
Netanyahu’s Likud party indicated a willingness to hit the brakes on the plan, with Culture Minister Micky Zohar saying the party would support him if he decided to do so.
Israeli media had reported that leaders in Netanyahu’s coalition would meet on Monday while the grassroots protest movement announced plans for another mass demonstration outside the Knesset later in the day.
Netanyahu’s office released a brief statement announcing Gallant’s dismissal, and the prime minister later tweeted, “We must all stand strong against refusal.”
Protestors blocked Tel Aviv’s main artery and transformed the Ayalon highway into a sea of Israeli flags and lit a large bonfire. Demonstrations were held in Beersheba, Haifa, and Jerusalem, where the police got involved in scuffles with protesters and used a water cannon to disperse the crowd.
InonAizik, a 27-year-old protester, stated that he was demonstrating outside Netanyahu’s residence because “bad things are happening in this country,” and called the judicial overhaul a “quick legislative blitz.”
According to Yochi Sherman, who is an organizer of the protests against the judicial overhaul and a veteran of the anti-Netanyahu “Black Flag” protests in 2020-2021, the “spirit of the protests feels very different” this time around.
“People are protesting from their heart. And what is wonderful is so many more young people are involved,” she said while speaking at a demonstration in Ra’anana on Monday.