Fifth consecutive week.
Thousands of people demonstrated again on Saturday, February 4 in the center of Tel Aviv, against the controversial judicial reforms envisaged by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Waving the blue and white Israeli flag, the crowd filled Kaplan Street in the city center, carrying placards that read that the new government is a "threat to world peace".
On another sign was a call to "save Israel's democracy from Netanyahu."
Demonstrations have been held every Saturday night since Netanyahu's government took office in December.
According to local media, rallies took place in 20 cities across the country on Saturday, adding that tens of thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv.
Asked by AFP, the Israeli police did not provide any figures on the number of demonstrators.
>> To read - Bills in Israel: what Benjamin Netanyahu yields to the extremes
"Reclaim" the flag
A 44-year-old protester, Dania Shwartz, told AFP that protesters were "reclaiming" the Israeli flag.
"If you look around you, there are a lot of Israeli flags and for many years the Israeli flag has been a symbol of the right, for no reason... We are patriots and we want this country to continue to exist. The Israeli flags belong to all of us, it's not a matter of being right or left," she said.
"This new government will try to pass laws that will affect my children," she added.
"We will save our country because we don't want to live in an undemocratic country," said former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who was among the crowd of demonstrators on Saturday evening, according to a video posted on the social networks.
מכל הארץ הגיעו אנשים להגיד שהם לא רוצים לחיות במדינה שבה אנשים שעובדים פחות חשובים מאנשים שלא עובדים, ואנשים שמתגייסים לצבא פחות חשובים מאלו שכן מתגייסים לצבא, ואנשים שלא שומרים על החוק יותר חשובים מאלו שכן שומרים על החוק.
נלחם פה ברחובות, בכנסת, בבתי המשפט.
נציל את המדינה שלנו.
pic.twitter.com/ZXXaG4tuWc
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) February 4, 2023
Judicial reform
Benjamin Netanyahu returned in December to head the government combining right-wing, far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, the most right-wing in the history of Israel.
At the beginning of January, Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced a reform plan including the introduction of an "escape clause" allowing parliament to overrule a Supreme Court decision by a simple majority.
This reform aims to increase the power of elected officials over that of magistrates and, according to its detractors, jeopardizes the democratic character of the State of Israel.
>> To read - In Israel, the revolt of the economic elites to defend a democracy in danger
Also in January, Benjamin Netanyahu was forced, under pressure from justice, to dismiss government number two Arie Dery, convicted of tax evasion.
At the end of December, the deputies voted a text, baptized "Dery law" by the press, authorizing a person convicted of a crime, but not sentenced to prison, to sit in government.
The Supreme Court criticized this law and considered that the appointment of Arie Dery was "in serious contradiction with the fundamental principles of the rule of law".
Benjamin Netanyahu himself is on trial for corruption in several cases and his trial is underway.
In Israel, the Prime Minister does not have any judicial immunity but does not have to resign or step down during his trial.
The government further announced its intention to pursue a policy of settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, as well as social reforms that have worried the LGBTQ community.
With AFP
The summary of the
France 24 week invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 app