Tens of thousands of Israelis rallied in several cities on Saturday in six weeks of protests to denounce plans for judicial reform by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government that critics say undermine judicial oversight over ministers.
The demonstrators, who belong to left-wing movements and parties and are in the midst of the partisan political map, fear that the new ruling combination will overturn the judicial system, and that it seeks to end Israel as a democratic state according to their slogans.
The plans, which the government says are necessary to curb judges' bypass, have widened already deep political divisions within Israeli society.
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority stated that thousands of participants in the weekly demonstration in Tel Aviv closed Ayalon Street, one of the most important streets in the city, which led to clashes with the police forces.
While Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted organizers of the demonstrations against the Netanyahu government, that 150,000 participated in the Tel Aviv demonstration, while nearly 80,000 participated in demonstrations organized in other cities, including Kfar Saba, Jerusalem, and Haifa.
Protesters say Israeli democracy will be undermined if the government succeeds in passing plans that would tighten political control over judicial appointments and limit the Supreme Court's powers to overturn government decisions or Knesset laws.
According to plans by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a parliamentary majority could pass a law even if the Supreme Court says it violates the country's basic law.
The opposition in Israel believes that this plan represents "the beginning of the end for democracy," while Netanyahu reiterates that it aims to "restore the balance between powers that was violated during the last two decades."
Netanyahu describes the demonstrations as a lack of acceptance by left-wing opponents of the results of last November's elections, which led to one of the most right-leaning governments in Israel's history.
It is scheduled to organize other protests and partial strikes next Monday, which will witness the first reading of the proposals in Parliament.
Today, Saturday, the Israeli N12 news channel published a poll revealing that 62% of Israelis want to either pause the proposed court plans or abandon them altogether.
This is not the first time that Israel has witnessed a series of weekly demonstrations against a government headed by Netanyahu. Israel witnessed huge demonstrations against his previous government between 2020 and 2021, which lasted for more than 10 months.