Israeli army chief of staff says "this hour different to any before"

Israel's army chief of staff called on soldiers on Monday to continue to do their duty and act with responsibility in the face of bitter social divisions over government plans to overhaul the judiciary.

"This hour is different to any that we have known before. We have not known such days of external threats coalescing, while a storm is brewing at home," Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said in remarks made public by the military press office.