Mass protests erupt in Israel after Netanyahu fires a minister who opposed judicial reform

(CNN) — Massive crowds filled the streets of the Israeli city of Tel Aviv late Sunday night after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister over his opposition to a planned judicial reform.

Waving Israeli flags and chanting “democracy”, protesters could be seen blocking streets and bridges, including the Ayalon highway.

Protesters ignited several fires on Tel Aviv’s main highway, sending acrid black smoke billowing into the sky, partially obscuring some of the city’s most iconic skyscrapers. Protesters also congregated along the highway, burning scrap metal and wood with little police presence.

Israel’s political crisis escalated on Sunday when Netanyahu’s office announced the removal of Yoav Gallant in a one-line statement, after he became the first cabinet member to call for a pause on controversial plans to review the country’s judicial system.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to remove Defense Minister Yoav Gallant from his post,” the statement said.

Gallant advocated halting the judicial reforms in a speech delivered on Saturday night, when Netanyahu was out of the country on an official visit to the UK. Some military reservists have vowed to retire from service in opposition to the plans, which critics say would undermine the independence of the judiciary. Gallant claimed that going ahead with the proposals could jeopardize Israel’s security.

As protesters gathered in the early hours of Monday, three Israeli government ministers – all members of Netanyahu’s Likud party – suggested that Netanyahu should stop reforming the judicial law.

“When the house is on fire, you don’t ask who is right, but pour water on it and save its occupants,” Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar tweeted. “If the prime minister decides to stop the legislation to avoid the fracture created in the nation, we must support his position.”

And Economy Minister Nir Barkat, a former Jerusalem mayor, suggested that Netanyahu should “stop and recalculate” his reform plan, warning that it has brought the country to the brink of civil war.

“Reform is necessary and we will do it, but not at the cost of a civil war,” he said.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called on Netanyahu on Monday to suspend planned judicial reform and annul the defense minister’s dismissal.

“I ask the prime minister to withdraw Gallant’s dismissal letter, suspend the reform [judicial] and enter into a negotiating truce until after Independence Day,” Bennett said on his Twitter account.

The protests had subsided by 2am local time in Tel Aviv. CNN’s team on the ground saw half a dozen police cars speeding towards the protesters and live footage from the scene showed security forces firing water cannons at protesters as they they were still together.

A city police spokesperson told CNN that police are preparing to disperse protesters from southbound Ayalon, near the Hashalom interchange, and are asking protesters to leave the area and evacuate the road.

The comments from the now-fired Defense Minister Gallant, who is a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, upset Israel’s already delicately balanced coalition government. It is unclear if the plans will be able to go ahead. An official in Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister had lost trust in Gallant, adding that he had not authorized the comments in advance and had “thus sabotaged efforts to reach a solution.”

In his speech on Saturday, Gallant said the pause was necessary “for Israel’s security,” citing the refusal of some Israel Defense Forces reservists to train in protest of government plans.

Gallant reiterated that sentiment in a tweet on Sunday after his removal: “The security of the State of Israel has always been and will continue to be my life’s mission.”

Former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid called Gallant’s firing a “new low”. He wrote on Twitter that Netanyahu could fire the minister but “cannot fire the people of Israel who are facing the madness of the coalition.”

He added: “The prime minister of Israel is a danger to the security of the State of Israel.”

Former Israeli Defense Minister and opposition lawmaker Benny Gantz tweeted: “We face a clear, immediate and tangible danger to Israel’s security,” before adding that the danger had intensified. “Tonight Netanyahu has put himself and politics before security.”

Israel’s Consul General in New York, Asaf Zamir, resigned in response to Netanyahu’s decision to fire Gallant. In his resignation letter, which he posted on Twitter, Zamir called Netanyahu’s move a “dangerous decision” and added that he is “increasingly concerned about the policies of the new government and, in particular, the judicial reform that he is leading.”

“I believe that this reform undermines the very foundations of our democratic system and threatens the rule of law in our country,” he wrote.

Israel’s universities will go on strike starting Monday, they announced, and the country’s largest union and business leaders said they would hold a press conference Monday morning. The union, Histadrut, said its news conference with business leaders scheduled for 11 am (4 am Miami time) would be dramatic.

Under the proposals, the government would control the appointment of judges and parliament could overturn Supreme Court decisions.

The government argues that the changes are essential to rein in the Supreme Court, which it views as insular, elitist and no longer representing the Israeli people. Opponents say the plans threaten the foundations of Israeli democracy.

The protests by military reservists are of particular concern to the Israeli government, as they are regularly called up for training and service, even in peacetime.

Israel’s National Security Minister, the far-right Itamar Ben Gvir, had called on Netanyahu to fire Gallant after his speech on Saturday. “Gallant has given in tonight to the blackmail and threats of all those anarchists who call for resistance and use the [Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel] as a bargaining chip,” Gvir tweeted.

“Gallant was elected by the votes of right-wing voters and in practice promotes a left-wing agenda. When push came to shove, he collapsed under pressure from the media and protesters. I call on the Prime Minister to sack him immediately “.

To add to the pressure on Netanyahu, Israel’s Supreme Court gave him a week on Sunday to respond to a petition to hold him in contempt of court.

The legal action by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel comes after the attorney general told Netanyahu that he had acted illegally and violated a conflict of interest court order by saying he would be personally involved in the judicial review.

Part of the bill, which deprives courts of the power to declare a prime minister unfit for office, has already been approved.

Critics say Netanyahu is pushing for the changes because of his own ongoing corruption trial; Netanyahu denies it.

Netanyahu himself has given no indication that he is going to back down. In a speech on Thursday he said he would address the concerns of “both sides” but vowed to go ahead with reform plans.

Likud lawmaker Danny Danon said it was too soon to know if there were enough rebels in the party to stop the legislation, telling CNN: “We’ll only know on Monday,” when party members meet in the Knesset, or parliament. .

Netanyahu and his allies control 64 seats out of 120 in the legislature, so in theory five Likud rebels could deprive the coalition of an absolute majority. But lawmakers can abstain or absent, which reduces the number of votes a law needs to pass.

–CNN’s Richard Allen Greene contributed reporting from Jerusalem. Lauren Said-Moorhouse wrote from London.