Israel National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, on Monday said he would resign from the government if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu halts the judicial change plan, Anadolu News Agency reports.
Netanyahu held talks with his coalition government members to discuss obstacles hindering the suspension of the controversial judicial overhaul plan.
After hours-long deliberations, Netanyahu left his office Monday afternoon to the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) in West Jerusalem, where thousands are demonstrating against the planned change.
According to Maariv newspaper, Netanyahu said he will announce the suspension of the judicial overhaul due to disputes among coalition members.
He is expected to make his announcement today.
For his part, Ben-Gvir, the head of the far-right Otzma Yehudit Party, threatened to resign from the government if the judicial change was halted.
Justice Minister, Yariv Levin, also threatened to resign, but he called for postponing the vote on the controversial plan in order to give room for dialogue with the opposition.
Tension escalated across Israel on Sunday after Netanyahu sacked Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, over his call for halting the judicial reform plan.
According to Israeli public broadcaster, KAN, Gallant said he will remain in his position if Netanyahu revokes his dismissal decision.
In addition to the military, the planned judicial overhaul has drawn huge public protests for months, with demonstrators calling the plan a power grab by the government.
On trial for corruption, Netanyahu claims that his plan would enhance democracy and restore the balance between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government.
According to a report, Israeli National Security Minister and Otzma Yehudit Party chief Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened to leave the ruling coalition on Monday if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu freezes its judicial reform program.
The threat was delivered during a stormy meeting at the Knesset, during which Ben-Gvir could be heard screaming at the prime minister.
Otzma Yehudit has six seats in the 120-member Knesset, and without them, Netanyahu’s 64-seat coalition would lose its majority and almost certainly collapse.
Netanyahu was scheduled to address the country at 10 a.m. but delayed the speech.
The Religious Zionism Party, which has seven Knesset members, issued a statement on Monday rejecting any pause in the reform initiative, describing such a move as a “surrender” to the “violent” demonstrations taking place across the country.
“After much consideration and consultations, our position is that we must not do anything to stop the passage of the legislation. Stopping the legislation would constitute a surrender to violence and anarchy, to the refusal to serve in the army and to the dictatorship of the minority—and would undermine the results of the [November] election,” said the statement.
“We were and still are open to dialogue, compromise and agreement, but not under the threat of a coup by the centers of power against Israeli democracy,” it added.
In response, Economy Minister Nir Barkat of the Likud Party called on coalition parties to back Netanyahu.
“We must not bring about the overthrow of the right-wing government at our own hands. Our strength is in our unity,” he said.
Elsewhere in Israel, flights from Ben Gurion airport have been halted as the head of Israel’s largest trade union called a general strike.
