Hundreds of Thousands of Protesters Take to the Streets of Israel, Forcing Netanyahu to Pause Controversial Plans

Hundreds of thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Tuesday, launching a general strike in response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial plans to overhaul the country’s judiciary. In response, Netanyahu relented to the public pressure and paused his plans, but experts warned that the battle for the country’s future may only be beginning.

In response to a suggestion from President Biden that his government “walks away” from the plans, Netanyahu tweeted that “Israel is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends.”

The group leading the protests said Tuesday that they would keep up the pressure, even as the public unrest dissipated and the country’s figurehead president invited negotiating teams from rival political factions to a meeting to begin talks toward a potential compromise.

Netanyahu, re-elected in November to lead his country for a third time, is now scrambling to salvage his political future and his government’s plans. The protests have been the largest in Israel’s history, and the country is now at a crossroads.

The outcome of the talks between the negotiating teams is uncertain, but the protests have shown that the people of Israel are determined to have their voices heard. It remains to be seen what the future holds for the country, but it is clear that the people of Israel will not be silenced.