Israeli unions increase pressure on Netanyahu with nationwide strike

Israelis scuffles with police during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul plan (AP)

Workers in Israel have launched a nationwide strike, threatening to paralyse the economy as they joined a protest movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary.

Departing flights from the country’s main international airport were grounded, large shopping mall chains and universities shut their doors, and Israel’s largest trade union called for its 800,000 members – in health, transit, banking and other fields – to stop work.