He is sinking deeper and deeper into a political crisis. Israel as mass protests against the coalition government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continue for the 13th week.

On Sunday evening, thousands of Israelis (600,000-700,000 according to private channel 12) demonstrated in Tel AvivV Jerusalem and another 150 parties against the dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Galan, who a day earlier called on the government to “freeze” the justice control bill.

Late yesterday afternoon, and under pressure from less intense protests outside parliament, Netanyahu announced that he would finally move debate on the bill to the next Knesset session next month. “I am not ready to divide the nation. I will do everything in my power to find a solution,” Netanyahu said in a taped televised address, referring to “extremist elements” trying to destabilize the country.

“The reason I am postponing the vote is so that the bill can be discussed more and we can reach broad agreement,” he added.

The bill gives ministers the power to appoint judges and allows parliament to overrule Supreme Court decisions by a majority vote. It is recalled that Netanyahu has faced numerous corruption charges and is expected to face trial, and protests against his government have been ongoing since 7 January.

Sunday’s protests were among the largest ever and erupted shortly after a government spokesman announced that the defense minister was resigning because he was “dangerous to the security of the country.” Protesters blocked major highways as crowds gathered outside Netanyahu’s home in Jerusalem, with police using water pumps to disperse them. Ports, airports and railway stations have suspended their work.

The largest union in the country suspends the general strike – Reaction to the dismissal of the Minister of Defense.

However, shortly after Netanyahu’s speech yesterday, the union, which represents more than 700,000 workers, announced the suspension of the general strike it had called. While this may indicate that Netanyahu has achieved his goal, many protesters are demanding the complete withdrawal of the bill and say they are determined to keep protesting.

Resignations

As a sign of support for the struggle of his compatriots, Israel’s Consul General in New York, Asaf Zamir, announced his resignation, indicating that he could no longer represent a government that does not respect the principles of democracy and freedom, while mayors and councilors in many communities are symbolically resigning Israel.

Under the weight of this pressure, people from the prime minister’s entourage since yesterday began to seep that there are thoughts of postponing the vote. However, many chairmen of the parties in the ruling coalition said that if this happens, they will resign. Finally, Jewish Power leader and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said yesterday afternoon that he had decided to lift the veto, on the condition that the bill was debated again at the next Knesset meeting on April 30.