OTTAWA — Israeli diplomats in Canada are expected to return to work Tuesday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bowed to public pressure and announced a postponement of his controversial plan to reform the country’s judicial system.

Israeli diplomats in Canada on Monday joined a strike action against Prime Minister Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system.

Israeli embassy spokesman Eli Lipshitz had previously confirmed that the Ottawa mission would be shut down following a decision by Israel’s largest union, the Histadrut, which called on its 800,000 members to strike to protest Mr. Netanyahu’s.

The consulates in Toronto and Montreal were also closed and joined the strike. Histadrut spokesman Yaniv Levy said the missions only provided emergency services.

Workers in various sectors declared a strike on Monday to increase pressure on Mr Netanyahu to abandon the overhaul plan.

In addition to closing Israeli diplomatic posts around the world, the Histadrut called on its members to halt work in healthcare, public transportation, banking and other areas that threatened to cripple the economy and disrupt essential services.

The Histadrut strike call came after Mr Netanyahu sacked Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the first senior official in the ruling Likud party to oppose the plan. Mr Gallant’s sacking sparked spontaneous protests across the country.

In the face of an unprecedented wave of resistance, Mr Netanyahu announced Monday night that he was delaying his plan “to avoid civil war”.

Immediately after Mr Netanyahu’s statement, the Histadrut announced that it would call off its general strike.

“When there is an opportunity to avert civil war through dialogue, as prime minister I take time out for dialogue,” Netanyahu said in a televised address to Israel nationally.

Using a more conciliatory tone than previous speeches, he said he was determined to push through judicial reform but called for “an attempt to reach a broad consensus”.

Mr Netanyahu gave no timeframe for a compromise but expressed hope that the nation would heal and people would enjoy the upcoming Passover holiday.

The speech appeared to ease tensions but did not resolve the underlying tension behind the protests. Even before he spoke, the anti-government grassroots protest movement said delay would not be enough.

One of the worst national crises

The protests come in response to Netanyahu’s plan to give his ruling coalition the final say on all judge appointments. The government also wants to give Israel’s Parliament the power to overrule Supreme Court decisions.

The plan was spearheaded by Mr Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, and his allies in the most right-wing Israeli government ever. Critics have accused Israel’s longest-serving prime minister of using the proposed changes to retain power.

He denies wrongdoing, while the government has previously labeled protesters as anarchists trying to overthrow democratically elected leaders.

Government officials say the plan will restore balance between the judiciary and the executive branch and curb what they see as an interventionist court with liberal sympathies.

Canada and other members of the international community have closely followed the reforms that plunged Israel into one of its worst national crises.

Secretary of State Melanie Joly said Monday she recently discussed Netanyahu’s reform proposal with her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, and that Canada has concerns about the proposed overhaul.

“We continue to pressure Israel to abandon its judicial reform,” she said.

“In a democracy, fundamental changes must be supported by a wide range of people, and we encourage Israeli leaders to find a path that is supported by the people,” she added.

Ms Joly did not say whether Canada would impose sanctions or take any other action that would go beyond diplomatic engagement and raise the issue publicly.

“It’s important that people on the streets of Israel know Canada hears them,” she said.

— With information from Dylan Robertson and The Associated Press.