Israel’s Netanyahu suspends judicial overhaul after mass protests

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paused his signature plan to overhaul Israel’s judiciary after a day of nationwide turmoil when workers joined a general strike against the proposal and hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets.

The plans by his nationalist religious coalition to hand control over judicial appointments to the executive while giving parliament the power to overturn Supreme Court rulings has ignited one of the biggest internal crises in Israeli history.

Announcing his decision late on Monday to suspend the plans until parliament returns after the break for the Passover holiday and Independence Day next month, Netanyahu said the crisis required all sides to act responsibly.

“Israeli society is on a dangerous collision course. We are in the midst of a crisis that is endangering the basic unity between us,” he said in a prime time television address.

As he made the address, huge crowds had gathered in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, including a large counterdemonstration by right-wing supporters of the overhaul. Their presence prompted fears of possible violence between the two sides but the evening passed with no reports of major violence.

While Netanyahu and his supporters say the plans would ensure a proper balance between the elected government and the judiciary and would not endanger individual and minority rights, they have drawn sustained and furious opposition.