After a day of protests on Israel’s streets against the government’s overhaul of Israel’s judicial system, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to make a "special announcement" at 8 pm this evening. The prime minister has postponed his departure on an official visit to London to 4 am tomorrow. It is reported that Minister of Defense Yoav Galant has called on Netanyahu to halt the legislation of the changes to the legal system, and that he has held a meeting with former minister of defense and chief of staff Benny Gantz, one of the leaders of the National Unity opposition alliance, to discuss the possibility of a compromise. Galant is reportedly perturbed by widespread refusal of reserve IDF personnel to report for duty, in protest against the judicial overhaul.
The "Day of National Paralysis" has been marked by demonstrations around the country, blocking main roads. The Ayalon Highway was blocked intermittently for about two and a half hours in Tel Aviv. Police used water cannon to disperse those blocking the road, and water cannon were also deployed in Haifa.
The police made dozens of arrests, including of Shikma Schwartzman-Bressler, a particle physicist at the Weizmann Institute and a leading figure in the protest movement. Dr. Schwartzman-Bressler was arrested at Binyamina Junction outside the premises of defense technology company Rafael. She was later released. There were also reported scuffles between demonstrators and government supporters.
The demonstration outside Rafael was addressed by former Rafael CEO Giora Shalgi, former Elbit Systems CEO Yossi Ackerman, and former senior Israel Air Force officers Asaf Agmon and Alex Gan.
A large rally is due to be held this evening in the haredi stronghold of Bnei Brak to protest against the policy of haredi members of Knesset. The protest movement has split over the planned rally, with some organizations objecting to sectoral targets. President Herzog has appealed for people to act responsibility and avoid deepening divisions in the nation.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 23, 2023.
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