Netanyahu delays judicial overhaul after strikes cripple Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that he is delaying his government’s contentious judicial overhaul after mass protests brought Israel to a standstill.

"Out of a sense of national responsibility, out of a will to prevent a rupture among our people, I have decided to pause the second and third readings of the bill,” he told the country’s legislature.

Netanyahu called for an end to refusals by reservists not to serve in the Israeli military. He added that there “must not be a civil war” in Israel.

Following the news, Israel's main labour union called off a nationwide strike.

"The strike that I announced this morning will end," said Arnon Bar-David, chairman of the Histadrut labour federation, on Monday, praising Netanyahu for the move and offering help in forming a reform with mutual agreement.