Former Israeli PM warns of possible civil war in 'Israel'

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There is a real threat of civil war breaking out in "Israel", former Israeli occupation Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Monday.

Bennett, during an interview with Israeli Channel 12 that the occupation's government and the opposition should "take a week off from legislating and protesting and sit down to negotiate the proposed judicial amendments" by Justice Minister Yariv Levin.

"A settlement can be reached regarding the judicial amendments," Bennett said. "There are things that must be fixed and changed, but we should not go from one extreme to another."

"The majority wants amendments, not a change of the system," Benett added, warning of civil war breaking out "over nothing".

This comes after opposition MK Yair Lapid confirmed earlier on Monday that "Israel is on the brink of the abyss and at a decisive moment." The occupation, he added, is "walking toward ruin if the judicial amendments law is passed."  

The Israeli occupation's Justice Minister Yariv Levin rolled out a legal reform package that would limit the authority of the High Court of Justice and give the cabinet control over the selection of new judges.

The planned overhaul drew public criticism and prompted a wave of mass protests, with protestors on Saturday marching along "Ibn Gabirol" Street, with the city center closed to traffic due to the number of settlers filling the street, Sputnik reported.

Around 100,000 Israelis gathered outside the Knesset in occupied Al-Quds on Monday to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial reform plans, organizers said earlier in the night.

Israeli settlers have been for months taking to the streets in the thousands to protest the government's judiciary reforms.

"We can already declare a huge success. [The number of protesters is] approaching 100,000 in the Knesset [parliament] area. This is a huge force of civil resistance to a coup. At the moment of truth, the people of Israel stood up to stop the danger to Israeli democracy," the organizers said on Twitter.

Independent estimates say demonstrators in the Knesset area number around 70,000-80,000 people. Moreover, thousands of cars and people on public transport continue to flock to Al-Quds to express their opposition to judicial reform, Israeli media reported.

"Netanyahu's government and the leader of the Shas movement, Aryeh Deri, are in danger," Israeli opposition MK Avigdor Lieberman said, adding that "they are working to save themselves from their judicial predicament by passing laws undermining the Supreme Court." 

Former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon, warned Netanyahu of a "violent reality," stressing that "there are no opportunities for dialogue regarding judicial amendments."

"No one in Israel knows where things are headed, as this is the first time that Israel has faced this reality in modern history," Ayalon told Channel 13.

Following his November 1 election win, Netanyahu took office late last month at the head of a coalition with far-right and Zionist parties, some of whose officials now head key ministries. The new occupation government has announced intentions to pursue a policy of settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

Illustrating the increasingly stark division between Israelis, the president of Israeli occupation’s Supreme Court, Esther Hayut, lashed out at the "judicial reform plan" proposed by Netanyahu's cabinet, stressing that it "would crush the justice system."

Political divisions in "Israel" between the government and the opposition are escalating in light of the exchange of accusations of responsibility for the possible outbreak of an "internal war".

Former Israeli occupation Security Minister Benny Gantz called on Israelis to take to the streets in protest of changes to the Israeli judicial system.