Minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday spoke out against the prime minister’s plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed Defence Minister Yoav Gallant a day after Gallant spoke out against the country’s planned judicial reforms, Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday.

Netanyahu’s office did not provide further details.

Gallant, a senior member of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud Party, became the first to break ranks late on Saturday by calling for the legislation to overhaul Israel’s judicial system to be frozen.

Netanyahu’s government is pushing ahead for a parliamentary vote this week on a centrepiece of the overhaul – a law that would give the extreme-right governing coalition the final say over all judicial appointments.

Gallant cited the turmoil in the ranks of the military over the plan. But it was unclear whether others would follow him.

The proposal has triggered weeks of massive protests, with tens of thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets joined by military and business leaders, who have spoken out against the proposal.

The news comes as an Israeli good governance group on Sunday asked the country’s Supreme Court to punish Netanyahu for allegedly violating a conflict of interest agreement meant to prevent him from dealing with the country’s judiciary while he is on trial for corruption.

The request by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel intensifies a brewing showdown between Netanyahu’s government and the judiciary that it is trying to overhaul.