JERUSALEM: Tens of thousands Israeli citizens took to the streets in cities across the country on Sunday night in protest after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defence minister Yoav Gallant for opposing a proposed judicial overhaul. Demonstrations took place in Beersheba, Haifa and Jerusalem, where thousands of people gathered outside Netanyahu’s private residence. Police scuffled with protesters and sprayed the crowd with a water cannon. Thousands then marched from the residence to the Knesset.
The protests, which included the blocking of a main highway in Tel Aviv, have added to the ongoing crisis over Netanyahu's plan to restructure the judiciary.
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The protests intensified after Netanyahu fired defence Minister Yoav Gallant for speaking out against the plan. Gallant had challenged Netanyahu's judicial overhaul plan, which has sparked widespread protests and alarmed business leaders and former security chiefs, as well as allies such as the United States and Germany. The dismissal of Gallant signaled that Netanyahu and his allies would move ahead with the overhaul plan.
Police use water cannons
Netanyahu made the decision to sack Gallant after the former navy admiral warned on Saturday that the overhaul plans risked "a clear, immediate and tangible threat to the security of the state" and called for them to be halted.
"At this time, for the sake of our country, I am willing to take any risk and pay any price," Gallant said in his televised address.
Netanyahu acted in response on Sunday night as he was poised to ratify a central part of the overhaul package, a bill that would tighten political control over judicial appointments, handing the executive wider freedom to name judges to the Supreme Court.
What are the reforms
Netanyahu's government is pushing for a parliamentary vote this week on a law that would give the governing coalition final say over all judicial appointments. The government also seeks to limit judicial review of laws and grant parliament the authority to override Supreme Court decisions. Netanyahu and his allies claim that the plan will restore balance between the judicial and executive branches, but critics say the changes would remove checks and balances in Israel's democratic system and concentrate power in the hands of the governing coalition. The protests against the plan have been the largest in the country's history, and have included demonstrations by reservists from the Israeli army, who have threatened to withdraw from voluntary duty in recent weeks.
What other factors are at play?
Critics fear Netanyahu wants to leverage the judicial push to freeze or void his trial. He has denied having any such plan.
The opposition also says his nationalist allies want to weaken the Supreme Court to establish more settlements on land the Palestinians seek for a state. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties in the coalition want to pass a law exempting their community from service in the conscript military, which they worry may be struck down by the court if its powers are not cut back.
'National paralysis week'
Demonstrators have announced a "national paralysis week", including countrywide rallies, protests outside ministers' homes and on Wednesday outside parliament.
In fresh protests in Tel Aviv on Sunday, protesters burned tyres, police said. An AFP correspondent saw some protesters setting fires and others blocking the main motorway cutting through the coastal city.
In Jerusalem, protesters gathered outside the prime minister's residence, while other demonstrations took place in the northen city of Haifa and Beer Sheva in the south, local media reported.
Diplomat resigns
In recent weeks senior finance ministry officials have warned of an economic backlash and business leaders have sounded the alarm for their companies' future.
Adding to the pressure, the head of the Histadrut labour federation, the umbrella organisation for hundreds of thousands of public sector workers, said he was "astonished" by Gallant's removal and promised a "dramatic" announcement on Monday.
Israel's consul-general in New York said he was resigning over the dismissal. Israel's research universities announced they would stop holding classes due to the legislative push, calling for its immediate freeze.
US 'strongly urges' Israel leaders to find compromise
The United States is deeply concerned by events in Israel and "strongly urges" leaders there to find compromise as soon as possible, a White House spokesperson said on Sunday after the firing of Israel's defense minister triggered mass protests.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday, a day after Gallant broke ranks with the government and urged a halt to a highly contested plan to overhaul the judicial system.
"We continue to strongly urge Israeli leaders to find a compromise as soon as possible. We believe that is the best path forward for Israel and all of its citizens," White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
(With inputs from agencies)
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