JERUSALEM - Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday called on the government to halt legislation on changes to the judiciary, saying the bitter dispute over the measures poses a danger to the country.
Tens of thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday against a controversial judicial overhaul, as Galant broke ranks to call for a pause to the government reforms.
"Victory by one of the sides, on the city streets or in the Knesset's (parliament's) halls, is a loss for the State of Israel," he said.
Galant called for the halt before lawmakers are due to vote next week on a central part of the government's proposals, which would change the way judges are appointed.
"The deepening split is seeping into the military and defence institutions – this is a clear, immediate and real danger to Israel's security," Gallant said in a brief televised statement.
Israel has been gripped by mass protests since the government announced its judicial plans in January.
Gallant has previously voiced worries about a wave of Israelis who have pledged not to heed call-ups for military reserve duty if the reforms proceed, saying that could weaken war-readiness and national cohesion.
The judicial overhaul has also stirred concern abroad about Israel's democratic health. Senior officials in the Finance Ministry warned this week of an economic backlash, Reuters reported.
Gallant said he supported reforms of the justice system but they must be done with broad agreement.
Opposition to the plan does not appear to have weakened, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pledge this week to enshrine civil liberties and minority rights in law and defer some chapters of the overhaul during parliament's April recess.
His national-religious coalition is still, however,aiming to write one bill into law before April 2, when lawmakers disband for a recess.
Gallant's statement showed cracks in Netanyahu's coalition, with far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir calling on the premier to fire Gallant soon after his remarks, Reuters reported.
Protests
The latest protest to hit Israel's commercial hub came days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to press on with the changes despite mounting international alarm.
But his defence minister said on Saturday that "we must stop the legislative process" for a month.
The Tel Aviv protest swelled Saturday to around 200 000 protestors, according to Israeli media estimates.
"We're here today to show up and add our voice to the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Israelis that support the values that this country was founded on," hi-tech worker Daniel Nisman told AFP , mentioning democracy and tolerance.
"This is all we can hope for, that he (Netanyahu) brings us back from the edge of the abyss," the 36-year-old said.
Protests erupted in January after the coalition announced its reform package, which the government says is necessary to rebalance powers between lawmakers and the judiciary.
But historian Daphne Oren-Magidor, 41, who was protesting said the overhaul risked Israel "turning into a dictatorship".
"The laws that are being passed right now are laws that are aimed to make the government essentially the sole ruler and destroy the separation of powers,"Oren-Magidor said at a Jerusalem rally.
Thousands of protesters marched past the residency of President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, where Harriet Scher had an Israeli flag wrapped around her shoulders.
"It's been very upsetting for our country," said the 80-year-old.
The reforms "will be very detrimental to people on the periphery – lesbian, gay and the Arab population– everything will just not be good for the country, if they (politicians) have complete override of the Supreme Court," she said.
Plans to hand more control to politicians and diminish the role of the Supreme Court have been questioned by Israel's top allies including the United States.
US President Joe Biden has expressed "our concerns over these proposals, these proposed judicial reforms", White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday.
Netanyahu was also met by hundreds of protesters in London, where he met his British counterpart Rishi Sunak on Friday.
During the talks, the British premier "stressed the importance of upholding the democratic values that underpin our relationship, including in the proposed judicial reforms", a spokesperson said.
Netanyahu said Thursday that the legislation due in the parliamentary chamber next week "does not take control of the court but balances and diversifies it".
A parliamentary committee has amended the draft law with the aim of making it more palatable to opponents, but the opposition has ruled out backing any part of the reform package until all legislative steps are halted.
In response, protesters have announced a "national paralysis week", including countrywide rallies, protests outside ministers' homes and on Wednesday outside parliament.
In his televised address on Thursday, Netanyahu said he would do everything "to calm the situation and end the rift in the nation".
Even so, the premier said his administration remained "determined to correct and responsibly advance the democratic reform that will restore the proper balance between the authorities" by ploughing on with the overhaul.
Netanyahu came under fire a day later from Israel's attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, who said his public intervention was "illegal" due to his ongoing corruption trial.
The top legal official cited a previous court ruling that an indicted prime minister has no right to act on a matter that could place him in a conflict of interest.
AFP and REUTERS