ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made a dramatic U-turn on his decision to sack far-right Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for criticising government plans to curb the powers of the judiciary.

At a rare live press conference on Monday, Mr Netanyahu said that Mr Gallant would now remain in post.

“I decided to put the differences we had behind us,” he said.“Gallant remains in his position and we will continue to work together for the security of the citizens of Israel.”

The PM announced last month that Mr Gallant had been sacked but never sent him a formal letter of termination.

The planned attack on the judiciary set off a wave of spontaneous mass protests and a general strike that threatened to paralyse the country, forcing the Israeli leader to suspend his divisive proposals.

Mr Gallant’s criticism of the judicial shake-up led to his putative dismissal, but with that now cancelled, his aides said on Monday that it was business as usual at the Defence Ministry.

In recent days, he has been seen taking part in Israeli government meetings on tensions in Jerusalem, which escalated last week, and the wider violence they sparked in the region.

"Even in the last few days, we worked together and stood together around the clock on all fronts in the face of the security challenges,” Mr Netanyahu said on Monday.

At the weekend, tens of thousands of Israelis took part in the 14th successive week of demonstrations against the judicial shake-up, which have caused a major crisis for Mr Netanyahu.

Protest organisers say the plan would diminish national security by antagonising the military and weakening Israel in the eyes of its enemies.

They also say that Mr Netanyahu has a conflict of interest at a time when he is on trial for alleged corruption.

Supporters of Mr Netanyahu claim that the plan is needed to rein in the powers of unelected judges.

After last Wednesday’s police raid on the al-Aqsa mosque compound — the third-holiest shrine in Islam and also the most sacred to Jews — rockets were fired into northern Israel from Lebanon, Syria and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

At least 92 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis so far this year while at least 19 Israelis have lost their lives.