Amid strong protests in Israel, Netanyahu says he will suspend judicial reform.

Sputnik - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told coalition partners that he has decided to suspend the controversial judicial reform, KAN TV reported on Monday (27).

According to the media, the main ideologue of the reform and Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, realized that "there is no other choice." The remaining challenge, according to the channel, is to convince the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Israel's doctors' union announced that the country's health system would cease functioning from Tuesday (28), until the implementation of the judicial reform was suspended, reports the Haaretz agency.

Large protests against the Netanyahu government's judicial reform are taking place in Israel and abroad for the 12th consecutive week. According to Israeli media, more than 600 people took to the streets last Sunday.

The bill would limit the Supreme Court's influence on the lawmaking process, allow lawmakers to challenge its decisions, and give the government control over the procedure for appointing judges.

The Knesset Committee on Constitution, Law and Justice has admitted for final plenary vote a bill to change the composition of the Judges' Nominations Committee, according to the Knesset website.

The head of the workers' committee at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv ordered the suspension of takeoffs amid protests, according to The Times of Israel.

The decision was made minutes after the head of the General Organization of Israeli Workers, Histadrut, announced a "historic" strike in an attempt to "stop the madness" of the controversial judicial reform.

On Sunday (26), the discussion of the law that would give the government an automatic majority on the Judges Selection Committee was postponed until this morning, amid widespread protests against the judicial reform. The law had been approved in the plenary session of Parliament in its first reading on February 21.

However, Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog has asked the government to immediately halt the adoption of the judicial reform, according to The Jerusalem Post.

"In the name of the unity of the people of Israel, in the name of responsibility, I ask that the legislative process be stopped immediately," the president declared, as quoted by the newspaper.

On Sunday (26), according to media reports, thousands of Israelis stormed a police checkpoint near the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, after he dismissed Israel's Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant.

The day before, Saturday (25), Gallant asked for the suspension of the judicial reform on public television for reasons of national security.

Following this, Israel's consul general in New York, Asaf Zamir, also decided to leave his post, noting that the ongoing judicial reform had "undermined" the foundation of the country's democratic system.