Israeli occupation settlers protest judicial reforms in "Tel Aviv" on Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Israeli media)

For the 13th consecutive week, Israeli occupation settlers took to the streets in "Tel Aviv" and other areas in the occupation entity to protest against the judicial overhaul introduced by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to Israeli media, around 150,000 settlers marched "Tel Aviv" on Saturday evening, while the total number of demonstrators across the occupation entity exceeded 175,000.

Meanwhile, Israeli settlers were spotted burning conscription orders as a political protest against the government against the backdrop of the recently initiated dialogue over the refusal to serve in the reserves.

The outbreak of the anti-government protests possibly indicates that talks between Netanyahu and the opposition under the auspices of Israeli President Isaac Herzog have not been successful so far, signaling that the occupation entity is heading toward a new escalation between ruling parties with no foreseeable solution in sight.

Back to the streets

Earlier, Netanyahu declared that the judicial reforms have been suspended, adding that he postponed the second and third Knesset votes on the legislation until the upcoming summer.

The opposition, however, demanded that the whole bill be scrapped rather than postponed and that the PM reassigns Security Minister Yoav Gallant, who he had earlier dismissed over his remarks opposing the judicial reforms.

Head of the "Yisrael Beiteinu" party, Avigdor Lieberman, called on opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz - after Netanyahu announced postponing the vote rather than canceling the bill - to "suspend the ongoing negotiations regarding judicial amendments," stressing that "Netanyahu carried out a deceitful maneuver ... and I will not participate in that."

Israeli media confirmed earlier this week that Knesset MKs Aryeh Deri and Yuli Edelstein are pressuring the incumbent occupation Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to repeal his dismissal of Security Minister Yoav Gallant.

Yair Golan, a former MK of the Meretz party, said, "First of all, the protest movement must continue, and what we see here is a temporary suspension of legislation and not cancellation of the coup."

"We demand the abolition of the legislation in its entirety, and any amendments to the Israeli system must take place through dialogue that does not start from a plan aimed at extricating Netanyahu from trial or allowing the religious elements of Israel to proceed with their separatist tendencies or annexing the West Bank," he explained then.

Opponents also slammed Netanyahu’s announced plans to establish a "National Guard" under the supervision of Police Minister Ben-Gvir in yesterday’s speech as a “bomb between his words," arguing that "it is a very dangerous matter, and it could herald terrible things."

Protesters gathered in "Kaplan" Street in the center of "Tel Aviv", not to mention other anti-government gatherings in Haifa, occupied Al-Quds, and other locations throughout the occupied territories.

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of "Tel Aviv" for the 13th consecutive week, some blocking one of the major highways, to protest against Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal to overhaul the justice system, even after he paused the process for a month. pic.twitter.com/RotT6OMzKG
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) April 1, 2023

Protests were also held in front of the residence of "Justice" Minister Yariv Levin, who led the proposal of the judicial reforms, Israeli media reported.

Three demonstrators were arrested in "Tel Aviv" so far and one in occupied Haifa, the media added.

The leader of the opposition, Knesset Member and former PM Yair Lapid, attended the protests in "Tel Aviv" and addressed the settlers, warning that the occupation entity has not yet come out of the danger [of the judicial reforms] and stressing that the opposition "is ready" to face this challenge.

Two days ago, 30,000 Israeli occupation pro-Netanyahu settlers marched "Tel Aviv" in support of the judicial reforms, while a large number of IOF were deployed to ensure no clashes take place with opposition demonstrators.

Israeli website Makan stated that the protesters called for the implementation of the judicial reform legislation, noting that some of them even called for violence targeting the opposition crowds.

Coup warnings

Former Israeli occupation police chief Moshe Karadi warned on Saturday that Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir could potentially use his proposed "National Guard" to carry out a coup against the Israeli government - after the latter announced that he agreed with Netanyahu to freeze the judicial reform legislation in exchange for a pledge to greenlight the "National Guard" force.

Another former police commissioner, Assaf Hefetz, told Channel 12 that Ben-Gvir’s plans should not be passed, because such a force should not be "under the responsibility of a politician."

"Two bodies can not operate on the same territorial unit," Hefetz said, warning that if the proposed "national guard" is not integrated into the occupation police, "there is a fear that it will be a militia, and that disqualifies it from serving as a police force that works under the law."

On his part, Ben-Gvir rebuked Hefetz and Karadi over their remarks, tweeting that reality shows should give them "a talent contract because their need for attention at my expense is a bit pathetic."

The United States warned in closed doors that the establishment of the "National Guard" under Ben-Gvir is an "insane and dangerous step," Israeli media revealed earlier this week.

This comes as US President Joe Biden sent a personal and confidential message to Netanyahu asking him to put an end to the judicial reform plans and try to find a middle ground, the Israeli Walla! website reported on Wednesday.

The confidential message that Biden conveyed to Netanyahu shows that the US President directly interfered in the pressure campaign that the White House ran on the issue in public and private in order to persuade the premier to stop the legislation dead in its tracks.