A cautious calm prevailed in Israel on Tuesday, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the suspension of amendments related to judicial reform that have brought thousands of Israelis onto the streets over the past three months.

The protests were intensified after the General Federation of Trade Unions in Israel, Histadrut, announced the general strike, which many sectors began to join in succession.

"Out of my sense of national responsibility and my desire to prevent a rift among our people, I decided to freeze the second and third readings of the bill" in the Knesset, Netanyahu said in a radio interview.

Netanyahu's decision to suspend the legislative steps is considered a dramatic shift, especially since he announced just a day earlier the dismissal of the defense minister who had called for the same step.

Netanyahu's decision did not escape skepticism.

The head of the Israeli Democracy Institute pointed out that Netanyahu's move cannot be considered as expressing a desire for reconciliation.

"Maybe it's a cease-fire in order to remobilize and organize... and move forward," Yohanan Plesner added.

"He (Netanyahu) knew how with beautiful words to turn a crushing defeat into a draw," wrote the Yedioth Ahronoth daily.

"Israeli society is boiling, and what (Netanyahu) is proposing is nothing but a measure," Nachum Barnea wrote.

As for the opposition, led by Yair Lapid, it announced its willingness to "serious dialogue", but with conditions.

"If the legislation is truly and completely halted, we are ready to engage in serious dialogue," Lapid said in a televised speech.

The opposition refused earlier to negotiate the file of judicial reform, which it believes will give politicians broader power at the expense of the judiciary.

In a joint statement by Lapid and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, the talks will stop immediately "if legal reforms are put on the Knesset's agenda."

The opposition has identified its representatives for the forthcoming negotiations, in a step that the Likud Party, led by Netanyahu, did not do.

"The aim is to reach an agreement," the prime minister said in a statement on Tuesday.

As for the demonstrators who used to go out every week to protest, they confirmed that they would continue to do so.

The "umbrella" protest movement considered Netanyahu's move a new attempt to shed light on the Israeli public in order to weaken the protest and impose dictatorship.

"We will not stop the protest until the judicial coup stops completely," she added in a statement.

For his part, Israeli President Isaac Herzog called for "real and responsible dialogue."

On Monday, he said he would host talks to find a settlement. His spokesman was unable to provide AFP with a timetable for the talks.

The crisis in the Hebrew state revealed deep divisions within the nascent right-wing government coalition, an alliance of right-wing and far-right parties.

As for Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, he stressed on Monday that "there will be no retreat" from the judicial reform.

Despite the demonstrations and the state of instability in the Jewish state, the far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir confirmed on Monday that the reforms "must not stop" and called on his supporters to mobilize support for them.

Ben Gvir threatened to withdraw from the government coalition.

According to Ben Gvir's Jewish Power Party, the decision to suspend the judicial reform talks involves an agreement to expand the powers of the minister.

Yossi Verter, a political correspondent for the left-wing Haaretz daily, wrote that Netanyahu's decision represented "a victory for the demonstrators, but the person who destroyed and trampled on Netanyahu is Itamar Ben Gvir."

The current crisis in the Hebrew state has affected the confidence of the Israeli public in the government that was sworn in last December only.

An opinion poll conducted by Israeli Channel 12 indicated that the right-wing Likud party, led by Netanyahu, fell by seven points.
The poll predicted that the government would lose a majority in the 120-seat parliament if elections were held.

As for the isolated defense minister, Yoav Gallant, his fate has not yet been known, but media reports indicate the possibility of his return to office.

On Monday, Gallant welcomed "the decision to stop the legislative process in order to hold a dialogue," according to what his office confirmed.

The Minister of Defense had indicated his concerns regarding Israel's security in case the government proceeded with the reform program, ignoring the protests.