Netanyahu has accepted calls to delay judicial reforms plan after weeks of public protests

Under mounting pressure, after weeks of public protests, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has finally accepted calls to delay his infamous judicial reforms plan.

Therefore, out of national responsibility, out of the will to prevent the rift in the nation, I have decided to suspend the second and third readings of the law in this term of the Knesset in order to allow the time to reach that wide consensus ahead of legislation during the next Knesset.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel

Before the announcement, Israel's Army Chief of Staff called on the regime's forces to continue to do their duty in the face of bitter divisions over the judicial plan amid reports of many Israeli reservists threatening not to serve while hundreds have already escaped reserve duties.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has postponed a decision on controversial plans for a judicial overhaul. 
  

  Israel political crisis

  Benjamin Netanyahu has postponed a decision on controversial plans for a judicial overhaul.

Meanwhile, Israeli embassies in other countries and major ports across the occupied territories have joined the massive anti reform strike.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have protested over a planned overhaul of the judiciary.

The reforms, which are backed by Prime Minister Netanyahu and his pro settler coalition, would enable them to pick judges and limit the Supreme Court's power to strike down laws.

• Far-right Israeli minister to get his own 'militia' 

Lawmakers have already passed a reform that strips the Attorney General of the power to declare the Prime Minister unfit for office. Critics say the proposed judicial reforms will weaken democracy.

Israel has no written constitution so the Supreme Court should be a vital check on the cabinet but the courts track record on Palestinian rights is already weak.

The Supreme Court of Israel entrenches the occupation and upholds laws blocking equal rights for Palestinians. It has never ruled against the legality of hundreds of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law.

• Israeli protest leader vowed demonstrations will continue across the occupied territories after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that a controversial plan to overhaul the regime’s judiciary will be delayed until next month.https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/03/28/700556/Protest-leader-vows-action-will-continue-until-Israeli-PM-shelves-plan-for-judicial-overhaul 
  

Over six million Palestinians live under the yoke of Israeli occupation and its draconian military laws.

Palestinian citizens have inferior rights, face unequal laws, and, are banned from living in 900 towns.

Israel's far right cabinet has banned Palestinian flags and threatened to wipe out Palestinian villages and build more illegal settlements on their land.

Israel is considered an apartheid regime by leading rights groups, due to its systematic denial of the rights of Palestinians. For many, the far right Israeli cabinet’s plans to weaken the judiciary and entrench the Prime Minister's power are just another extension of occupation and unequal treatment.

Netanyahu's proposed reforms seek to rob the Israeli Supreme Court of the power to overrule decisions made by the regime's new extremist cabinet and the Knesset.

• Israeli president Isaac Herzog has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to back down on judicial reforms. 
  

Mass protests have gripped the regime since it announced the plan in January. Tens of thousands of demonstrators have faced off police in the streets for the past 12 weeks.

In reaction to the ongoing crisis Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani has described the situation as a wildfire that is consuming Israel from within. He added that the attempt by Netanyahu to boost his own power has once again revealed internal fault lines in the Zionist society by stoking unprecedented street protests and clashes.

• US call for judicial compromise shows concerns for Israel’s security. 
  

According to the latest surveys the average Israeli's trust in institutions has been deteriorating for some years, with only 35% of people saying they trusted institutions "quite a lot" or "very much" in 2020.

I think everyone must go on strike today; all the sectors of the economy. We call on the government to stop this crazy reform. We want equality, a Constitution, and, a Declaration of Human Rights.

Israeli Striker

• The judicial overhaul package is now facing intensifying protests, bringing tens of thousands of people to the streets and opening cracks in the right-wing coalition led by Netanyahu. 

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, also took Israel's Western allies, especially the US and the UK, to task for their continued support for Israel.

He said it's ridiculous that the United States and Europe, especially Britain, continue to support a fake identity which is based on occupation and apartheid and use democracy as justification.

The Israeli president warns that the occupying regime is moving down a dangerous path as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains adamant about implementing a set of highly controversial "legal reforms."