Israelis block a highway to protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system, in 'Tel Aviv', Saturday, March 11, 2023. (AP)

A former Israeli prime minister called for civil disobedience in the occupation on Sunday if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial reforms package is enacted.

In a statement on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS show, Ehud Barak said, "Once a government, using the tools of democracy, to destroy it from within, and ends up acting in a blatantly illegitimate matter, it is not just the right of citizens, it is, in my judgment, the obligation of citizens to turn unfortunately toward civil disobedience.”

He added, “It’s an attack on the very soul and nature of our democracy.”

The former prime minister, who served from 1999 to 2001, appeared on the show with Tzipi Livni, a former Israeli Justice minister, and former vice prime minister.

A former Security minister and chief of staff of the military, Barak raised the possibility of the Israeli occupation refusing to accept orders from Netanyahu’s government if it attempts to seize more power. “We do not have a contract with a dictatorship and once there is a de-facto dictatorship in Israel, we do not have a contract with them,” he said of the military.

Netanyahu's judicial reform package would effectively deprive the occupation Supreme Court of its "independence" and defang the nation's courts by allowing the occupation government to pass legislation that cannot be challenged in court. Netanyahu and his supporters argue that the legislation is essential to limit the power of rogue judges.

"Israel" is witnessing protests against the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, especially its plans related to judiciary reforms. This is not all; many have warned that a "civil war" was just around the corner for the Israeli occupation. pic.twitter.com/Hza4rScjFu
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) March 5, 2023

Opponents of the bill, some of whom have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest, argue that it will undermine the country's so-called democratic character by eliminating safeguards. “These are not judicial reforms,” Livni told Zakaria. “It is about changes like Israel as a democracy.”

Israeli settlers have taken to the streets for nearly the tenth week in a row to protest Benjamin Netanyahu's government, as it tries to pass a law undermining the judiciary Israeli media said on March 9th.

"Around 3,000 Israeli policemen were deployed to deal with the protests against the judicial overhaul," the Israeli Makan channel reported.

"The protests included the medical, high-tech, agricultural, academic, and reservist sectors," the channel said.

Furthermore, the Israeli Ynet news website reported that Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid attacked Netanyahu, saying he would "not stop lying, and the real anarchists are the ministers setting the country on fire", in reference to the premier and his police minister calling the protesters "anarchists" for demonstrating against the government.