Tens of thousands of Israelis took part in protests on Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to tighten control over the Supreme Court.
The latest in a series of protests against the plan, which was halted last month in the face of a series of strikes and a wave of mass demonstrations, saw several Israeli protests during Ramadan, the holy month of Islam. It happened at a time when we were facing a sharp rise in tensions in terms of
Thousands of people have gathered around Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque this week amid fears of a repeat of rocket attacks on Israel and a possible nighttime police raid following Israeli attacks on Gaza and southern Lebanon. Even worshipers were expected for evening prayers.
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Israelis were nervous after a car crash in Tel Aviv on Friday killed an Italian man and injured five other tourists.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has mobilized border police reservists and ordered the military to bolster security forces to avoid possible problems, amid calls for calm from the United Nations, European Union and the United States.
Crowds waving blue and white Israeli flags that have characterized protests over the past three months have gathered in central Tel Aviv to defy plans they see as an existential threat to Israeli democracy.
Demonstrators began the day before with prayers for the victims of the attack, but protesters said security concerns should not delay them.
“Security and reform are two different things,” said Amitai Ginsburg, a 26-year-old student. “We are still going to come here and say loud and clear that we will not pass this reform.”
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Proposals to allow the government to effectively control the appointment of Supreme Court judges and allow Congress to overrule many of the Court’s decisions have sparked one of the biggest domestic crises in Israel’s recent history. rice field.
Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, including military reservists, business leaders, members of Israel’s technology industry and leading academics, took part in a showdown with supporters of Netanyahu’s religious nationalist coalition.
Government officials who accuse activist judges of increasingly usurping parliament’s role say an overhaul is needed to restore the proper balance between the judiciary and elected politicians.
Critics say it removes some of the key checks and balances that underpin a democratic state, handing over unchecked power to the government.
Ahead of the protests, police were urging people to clear roads to allow emergency services to move freely after a car crashed on Tel Aviv’s popular coastline promenade on Friday.
(Written by James Mackenzie, edited by Giles Elgood)
