(A7)Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an address to the nation this evening (Monday) on the government’s planned judicial reforms.

“There is one minority that is willing to tear this country into pieces” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding a news conference addressing the controversy over his proposed judicial reforms. @netanyahu @IsraelNewsNow #JudicialReform pic.twitter.com/LcYLllFzph

— The Jewish Voice (@JewishVoice) March 27, 2023

“There is an extreme minority that is ready to tear our country into parts. It tends towards violence. It ignites fire. It threatens to harm elected officials. It talks about civil war. And it calls for insubordination, which is a terrible crime,” Netanyahu said.

“The State of Israel cannot exist without the IDF, and the IDF cannot exist with insubordination. Insubordination by one side will bring about insubordination on the other side. Insubordination is the end of our state. Therefore I demand that our security forces and the IDF’s commanders to oppose the phenomenon of insubordination. Not to contain it, not to understand it. To stop it,” he said.

“For three months, I have called for dialogue. I also said that I would leave no stone unturned in order to reach a solution. Because I remember, we remember, that we are not facing enemies: we are facing our brothers. I say here and now: we must not have a civil war.

“We are now on a path towards a very dangerous collision in Israeli society, which jeopardizes the basic unity between us, and such a crisis obligates all of us to act responsibly.

“Out of national responsibility, out of a desire to prevent a rift in the nation, I have decided to postpone the second third reading of the law in this session of the Knesset in order to give time to try to reach a wide agreement on the legislation in the next session of the Knesset. This way, we will bring about a reform that will restore the balance which has been lost, while maintaining and even strengthening human and individual rights,” he declared

Neyanyahu had reportedly planned to give a public address this morning announcing the freezing of the judicial reform legislation following the dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Likud) and the mass demonstrations which subsequently broke out across the country Sunday night. He decided to hold off on making a public statement after the Religious Zionist party issued a statement demanding the immediate passage of legislation altering the Judicial Selection Committee.

Protests erupted across Israel after Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant who had called to freeze the planned judicial overhaul.

Thousands of angry protesters took to the streets at 150 locations around the country according to police. pic.twitter.com/EO8OsiDq8M

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) March 27, 2023

“I agreed to remove my veto on the postponement of the legislation in exchange for a commitment [from Netanyahu] that the bills be brought to the Knesset for approval in the next session if no agreements are reached during the recess,” said Ben-Gvir in a statement.

He added that the coalition would attempt to engage in negotiations before attempting to pass the reforms.

For his part, Netanyahu also agreed to green-light the formation of a civilian national guard under Ben-Gvir’s authority during the next cabinet meeting.

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Netanyahu was scheduled to address the country at 10 a.m. local time but delayed the speech after members of his coalition threatened to bring down the government.

The standoff over the reform package reached a critical juncture earlier in the day with the announcement of a worker walkout by the Histadrut labor federation, which set off a cascade of similar announcements, including the grounding of planes at Ben-Gurion International Airport.

Netanyahu on Monday afternoon called for calm ahead of opposing protests in Jerusalem over the reform initiative.

A large demonstration was taking place outside of the Knesset in the afternoon featuring opponents of the ruling coalition and its reform proposals, while a pro-reform gathering was planned for the evening.

“I call on all the demonstrators in Jerusalem, on the right and the left, to behave responsibly and not to act violently. We are brothers,” Netanyahu posted to his Twitter account.