Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has put measures which would strip Israel's judiciary of its independence on hold for now.
Bibi's decision comes less than 24 hours after he fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for speaking out against the measures and a general strike which ground Israel to a halt today. Despite these events, Netanyahu's motivation to postpone the measures is likely because his own attorney threatened to resign from representing in his ongoing corruption trial unless he paused his plans.
However, this pause will likely be short-lived as Netanyahu has pledged to proceed with these measures after Passover which takes place between the sundown on April 5th and sundown on April 13th. While there is a possibility these measures could be moderated, given the composition of his cabinet it is unlikely that Itamar Ben-Gvir or Bezalel Smotrich or any other cabinet figures in the right-wing religious parties will be amenable to any compromise.
I'm sure that Netanyahu hopes the delay will cool off future protests once he resumes these proposals. But given the deep-seated opposition to these measures by a broad stratum of Israeli society including its military, I believe Netanyahu is vastly underestimating how much Israelis despise these measures. Not only do they represent a leap into authoritarianism, but Netanyahu is motivated by self-interest - namely trying to stay out of jail.
Bibi may have a respite, but it will be short-lived.
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