The president of Israel asks the Government to stop judicial reform

March 27 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, has asked the government of Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to stop the judicial reform legislation, after a night of tension in the streets of the country.

“For the sake of the unity of the people of Israel, for the sake of responsibility, I ask you to stop the legislative process immediately,” the president said through his profile on the social network Twitter.

Herzog has called on the heads of the blocs of the Israeli Parliament -the Knesset- “both from the coalition and from the opposition” to “put the citizens of the country above all else and act responsibly and courageously without further delay”.

“We saw very difficult plays tonight. I am addressing the Prime Minister, the members of the Government and the members of the coalition,” said the president, who stressed that this “is a moment of leadership and responsibility.”

“Deep concern surrounds the entire nation. Security, the economy, society, are all threatened. The eyes of all the people of Israel are on you. The eyes of all the Jewish people are on you. The eyes of the whole world are placed on you”, Herzog has expressed.

These statements come hours after more than 600,000 people took to the streets of Israel spontaneously to protest the dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, ousted after defending a suspension of the processing of the controversial judicial reform. In addition, civil society has announced numerous protests for this Monday, including a possible general strike by the main union.

On the other hand, several ministers of the Likud, the party led by the prime minister, announced during the night their support for the head of government in case he decides to pause the judicial reform.

After that, the coalition cabinet is debating a possible freezing of the controversial measure, since Netanyahu has had to organize an emergency meeting, as reported by the newspaper ‘Times of Israel’.