Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated Saturday evening in Tel Aviv for the twentieth consecutive week to protest Benjamin Netanyahu's government's plan to overhaul the judicial system.
Demonstrators held banners, some reading "Bibi is the enemy of democracy" and "Minister of Crime".
Israelis have demonstrated weekly since January to denounce the "judicial reform" plan and the government of Netanyahu, who is accused of corruption in a series of cases.
The Israeli prime minister announced on March 27 that the project was "suspended" to give "a chance for dialogue," but mobilization against the "judicial reform" plan remains strong.
"We stand together in defense of Israeli democracy," said Amos Tanai, a 52-year-old protester, calling for unity "segments of Israeli society that have been watching in silence throughout these years."
"But today we are cheering and trying to be strong."
Protesters chanted "Israel is almost a dictatorship," and crowds carried banners reading "Stop them."
Another protester, Saji Mizrahi, 40, who works as a computer programmer in Tel Aviv, said: "I am horrified by the idea that at any moment we are still a few hours away from the transition from democracy to dictatorship. I'm here because of the judicial system and the laws that are still on the table, it's terrifying."
Israeli police did not provide official figures on the number of demonstrators.
Last week, mobilization subsided against the backdrop of raids and rocket barrages between Israel and Palestinian resistance factions in the Gaza Strip, which lasted 5 days and killed 34 Palestinians and ended with a ceasefire on May 13.
For Benjamin Netanyahu's government, one of the most right-wing in Israel's history, the draft judicial amendments are aimed in particular at rebalancing powers by strengthening the powers of parliament at the expense of the Supreme Court, which considers it politicized.
Critics of the draft amendments argue that they would destroy the checks and balances that underpin democratic states, give the government unlimited powers, and threaten authoritarian deviation.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has been holding talks for a month with government and opposition representatives to reach a compromise on the draft terms.