ISRAEL – PROTESTS
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took part in nationwide rallies Saturday night against the government’s radical plans to reform the judiciary, the Times of Israel reported.
The proposed bill is designed to limit the Supreme Court’s influence over the process of passing basic laws, allowing parliamentarians to challenge Supreme Court decisions and giving the government full control over the judicial appointment process.
Tens of thousands took to the streets in many cities across the country, including major ones such as Jerusalem, Haifa and Beersheba. The main demonstration took place in Tel Aviv on Kaplan Street, with an estimated 200,000 participants.
In total, the organisers claimed that more than 630,000 people took part in the rallies.
During the protests, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant made a televised address in which, amid growing divisions in society, he called on the coalition to stop the controversial bill, thus becoming the first key Netanyahu government minister to publicly call for a suspension of the reform.
Coalition sources said the bill would pass as planned.
