Israel's Netanyahu Pauses Judicial Reforms, Trade Unions End Strike | Read

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday night paused a judicial overhaul which triggered a general strike, political division and mass protests in the country's most severe domestic crisis in years. After nearly three months of increasing tensions, Netanyahu said in a broadcast: "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." His comments came a day after he sacked his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, who had called for a halt to the legislative process citing national security concerns.