Israeli embassy in London shuts down as consular staff strike

Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is reportedly preparing to announce a suspension of his judicial reform plans, tweeted a call for calm around lunchtime on Monday, his first communication since firing defence minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday night.

In his tweet, Netanyahu said: "I call on all the demonstrators in Jerusalem, on the right and the left, to behave responsibly and not to act violently. We are brotherly people."

On Monday, trade unions in Israel announced they were calling for a general strike as thousands of protesters took to the streets of Israel's major cities.

The Israeli diplomatic corps, which provides staff to Israel's embassies across the world announced they were joining the strike action around lunchtime on Monday.

Immediately following the announcement of the general strike, the head of the workers union at Ben-Gurion Airport announced an immediate stop to departures at Israel’s main airport, suspending flights for over four hours.