Israel: Unions launch strikes in protest of judicial reforms

Israel's Airports Authority said on Monday departing flights from the country's main international airport in Tel Aviv were canceled after a strike called to protest the government's planned judicial changes.

The head of the workers union at Ben Gurion Airport, Pinchas Idan, said: "I have ordered an immediate halt to takeoffs at the airport."

The changed flight schedule is expected to affect tens of thousands of travelers en route to different destinations.

Israeli's umbrella organization of trade unions, Histadrut, has called for a general strike amid ongoing protests against the proposed judicial reforms.

The Histadrut umbrella group represents more than 700,000 workers in health, transit, and banking among other fields.

"I am calling a general strike," Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David said during a televised address. "From the moment this press conference ends, the state of Israel stops."

"We have a mission to stop this legislative process and we will do it," he said, vowing to "continue to fight."

President urges halt to judicial reform plans

Earlier on Monday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog urged the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pause the controversial judicial reforms that have sparked massive protests across the country.

This came a day after Netanyahu sacked his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after he opposed the reforms, which critics say hand the prime minister too much power at the expense of the independence of the judiciary.

Following Gallant's sacking, in a spontaneous outburst of anger, tens of thousands of angry Israelis poured onto the streets on Sunday night.

"For the sake of the unity of the people of Israel, for the sake of responsibility, I call on you to stop the legislative process immediately," Herzog, whose position is largely ceremonial, wrote on Twitter.

Netanyahu convenes emergency meeting

As the protests against Netanyahu intensified, ministers from his Likud party showed indications of willingness to hit the brakes on the overhaul. The current government is Israel's most right-wing ever.

On Sunday evening, the prime minister convened an emergency meeting attended by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Education Minister Yoav Kisch, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Dermer and Kisch advised the prime minister to freeze the legislation, the newspaper said.

Levin reportedly urged the government to stick to the plans and threatened resignation.

Culture Minister Micky Zohar, a close confidant of Netanyahu, said the party would back him if he decided to pause the judicial overhaul.

Far-right coalition partner Itamar Ben-Gvir tweeted on Monday that the government must not "surrender to anarchy" following mass protests.

On Monday morning, Israel's Channel 12 TV reported that Netanyahu would make an announcement possibly postponing any further votes on the legislation in the course of the day.

Protests intensify ahead of parliamentary voting

Observers have suggested that the dismissal of Gallant indicates the prime minister and his allies intend to move ahead and ensure the legislation is passed.

This week, the parliament is due to vote on a centerpiece of the overhaul — a law which would give the governing coalition a decisive say on all judicial appointments.

The government announced the planned changes in January, arguing they were needed to restore a balance between the executive and judicial branches and claiming judges had become too interventionist.

The former defense minister was the first senior member of Likud, the senior party in Netanyahu's sprawling coalition, to speak against the reforms. He said the deep divisions were threatening to weaken the military.

On Sunday night, while a crowd of protesters marched toward Netanyahu's residence, others blocked a main highway in Tel Aviv and lit bonfires.

The use of water cannons was reported at several of the protests.

On Monday, the largest labor union in Israel called a strike to protest the reforms.

The unrest has deepened a monthslong crisis over the prime minister's push to over the judiciary.