Despite the Israeli prime minister’s prime-time announcement that he is stopping in principle the legislative process in the House of the controversial justice reform bill, the protests continue. Opponents of the bill accuse him that it is essentially a “judicial coup”, that the announcement of the freezing of the proceedings is made only to deceive the people and to stop the demonstrations in the streets. Netanyahu’s position became even more difficult, when the day before yesterday he dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Galand, who called for, citing reasons of state security, judicial reform to be stopped after a mass refusal of young Israelis to do their military service. The fear of the dissolution of the newly formed government prompted Netanyahu to make the relevant announcements late last night.

Widespread disbelief

“If it is possible to prevent a civil war through dialogue, as prime minister I will make time for dialogue,” Netanyahu said, clarifying at the same time that “we insist on the need to make corrections to the legal system and we will give the opportunity to achieve these corrections through of a broad consensus. It is from this national responsibility that I have decided to suspend the second and third reading of the legislative package in this session.”

The Israeli prime minister did not want to open his papers. He declined to specify whether he is willing to make concessions on the points of contention or whether he just wants to buy time. He announced that he would seek talks with the opposition to secure greater acceptance of the bill, but such displays of intent have been made many times in the past. As reported in the Israeli media, Justice Minister Levin appears to have “betrayed” him by saying “we have to be smart, we will pass the reform later”.

Yair Lapid, head of the centrist Yesh Antid (There Is A Future) party and a former journalist who also served as prime minister, reacted with disbelief. “If Netanyahu tries to deceive us, he will again find in front of him many patriotic Israelis who will fight with determination for our democracy,” he said. “On the other hand, if the government is ready for a real and fair dialogue, we can come out of this low point stronger and united and make it a momentous moment in our lives together. This is the biggest crisis in Israel’s history. We are committed to solving it together so we can live here together.”

Itamar Ben Gvir hardliner defeated

What is going to happen? Netanyahu’s first talks with the divided opposition began already last night. According to what was leaked by “Bibi”. as it is called in shorthand, he met first with former defense minister Benny Gantz. Reports say that Gantz called on Netanyahu to keep the unopposed Yoav Gallad in place. This is “necessary for national security” and could help calm the situation, he said. It should be noted that Gallant was fired last Sunday, because he publicly called for the reform to be stopped. According to media reports, however, he has not yet been sent an official letter of dismissal. In general, however, there are conflicting opinions on whether the opposition should start a dialogue with the Netanyahu government. There is skepticism but also disbelief in his words. But there is another aspect. That for the first time in the 13 weeks that the protests have lasted, the government has thousands of supporters of judicial reform.

Among them is Itamar Ben Gvir, far-right Minister of National Security, who even threatened to resign, but then seems to have reconsidered. “At the meeting of the leaders of the coalition parties, I had decided to leave the coalition, because I was and still am of the opinion that the reform should be voted on today,” he said. “We must not capitulate with the anarchists. But then I realized that I would be giving them the win if I left. But they won’t win! They will not win! We will remain in the coalition and demand reforms.”

Ben Gvir can feel or even maybe be one of the winners. Because the controversial bill is still likely to pass as planned. And since he agreed to postpone the parliamentary process, it looks like he will get a lot of money for the creation of a national guard under his leadership. In recent weeks he has called for a tougher stance on protesters and also advocates a hard line on Palestinians in the occupied territories.