Lawmakers in the Israeli parliament (Knesset) prepared on Monday for a first-reading vote on "judicial reforms" introduced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government that have drawn its critics onto the streets in increasingly vocal protests.
Protesters posted videos online as they tried to stop lawmakers from Netanyahu's coalition heading to the Knesset, and police said they arrested eight people for disorderly conduct and rerouted traffic after demonstrators blocked some roads.
Netanyahu said - in a statement - that the demonstrators who talk about democracy "are themselves the ones who will eliminate it" when they deprive the elected delegates of their basic democratic right, as he described it.
The police remove the protesters from in front of the house of Likud MP Tali Gottlieb pic.twitter.com/xYYBsXmLZl
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The demonstrators in Israel fear that the new government will overthrow the judicial system and seek to end Israel as a democratic state, according to their opinion.
And in early February, the Israeli Public Prosecutor announced that the prime minister should move away from his government's efforts to make changes to the country's judicial system.
The government says the "reforms" are designed to end the Supreme Court's interference in politics.
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Critics believe that Netanyahu - who is on trial on corruption charges he denies - wants to curb the Supreme Court's oversight of legislation and give the executive branch great influence in appointing judges.
The alleged changes aim to give Parliament the power to overturn Supreme Court decisions by a simple majority, and give politicians more influence in appointing judges.
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Israel last Saturday, for the seventh consecutive week, against the "judicial reform" plan that Netanyahu's government intends to implement.
International, Arab and Israeli media have described the current Netanyahu government, which was sworn in last December 29, as "the most right-wing in the history of Israel."