Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday called on all the demonstrators in Jerusalem to behave responsibly and not to act violently in his Twitter account as mass protests against his judicial reform plan broke out.

Israel's largest labor organization Histadrut on Monday started a general worker strike to press the government to halt its contentious judicial overhaul plan.

Histadrut's chairman Arnon Bar-David issued a statement saying "workers and employers will together halt the judicial overhaul," Israeli media reported.

Following his call, departing flights from Ben Gurion International Airport have been grounded. Factories, banks, shopping malls and local authorities participating in the strike also shut down services.

Fast food chain restaurant McDonald's also joined the strike and closed its restaurants throughout Israel.

Public transportation, schools, and kindergartens were not affected.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Medical Association announced a strike at all public hospitals and community clinics for the same reason, sparing only urgent life-saving treatments.

All Israeli public universities also went on strike on the same grounds. Israel's Association of University Heads in a statement called on Netanyahu and his ruling coalition to immediately stop the legislation procedure and begin discussions to reach an agreed and broad outline.

The current Israeli government has put forward changes to the Israeli judicial system aimed at curbing the "overly activist" Supreme Court since the beginning of this year, sparking continued massive protests nationwide.

Netanyahu fires defense minister

Netanyahu fired the Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday, a day after he urged the government to put a pause on the controversial judiciary overhaul.

The move was largely seen as an indication that Netanyahu's coalition tries to push through key reform bills that are expected to be brought to parliamentary votes later this week.

Gallant responded in a tweet that Israel's security "has always been and will always remain the mission of my life."

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's national security minister and a staunch supporter of the reforms, welcomed the dismissal of Gallant.

Meanwhile, opposition leader and chairman of the centrist Yesh Atid party Yair Lapid criticized Netanyahu for firing Gallant, warning swift moves to overhaul judicial system are a threat to Israel's security.

In a televised speech on Saturday, Gallant called for dialogue with opposition parties, and postponement of government efforts of pushing ahead with the plan until the Knesset reconvenes from its Passover holiday on April 30.

He was the first minister in Netanyahu's far-right cabinet to break ranks and call for a freeze of the divisive plan to weaken the Supreme Court.

(With input from agencies)