JERUSALEM, 11 Jul: Thousands of Israeli prot-esters took to the streets on Tuesday, blocking major highways and thronging the country’s main intern-ational airport, in country-wide demonstrations against the government’s contentious plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system..
The demonstrations came the morning after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s parliamentary coalition gave initial approval to a bill to limit the Supreme Court’s oversight powers, pressing forward with a plan that has bitterly divided the nation. Netanyahu’s ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox allies have proposed a series of bills that have provoked months of sustained protests by opponents who say the country is being pushed toward authoritarian rule.
Anti-overhaul activists demonstrated nationwide throughout the day, including a mass protest Tuesday afternoon at Ben Gurion Airport. An estimated 10,000 people gathered outside the main hall, blowing horns and waving blue and white Israeli flags. Police kept the crowd from entering the hall, and travel was not disrupted.
“Civil war! I think we’re going that way if they’re not going to stop,” said Adi Somech, one of the protesters.
Mass protests have taken place since Netanyahu’s far-right government presented the overhaul plan in January, days after taking office. The protests led Netanyahu to suspend the overhaul in March, but he decided to revive the plan last month after compromise talks with the political opposition collapsed. The parliamentary vote overnight Tuesday gave fresh momentum to the protest movement.
Police used a water cannon to clear protesters who blocked a main artery leading to Jerusalem. Officers arrested several others who had obstructed a highway next to the central city of Modiin. Demonstrators blocked a main highway in Haifa with a large banner reading “Together we will be victorious,” snarling traffic along the beachfront. A protest outside Netanyahu’s home in central Jerusalem was planned later Tuesday.
Police reported a total of 66 arrests nationwide. Protesters scuffled with police in various locations, but no major violence was reported.
Netanyahu’s allies have proposed a series of changes to the Israeli legal system aimed at weakening what they say are the excessive powers of unelected judges.
The proposed changes include giving Netanyahu’s allies control over the appointment of judges and giving parliament power to overturn court decisions. The legislation advanced Tuesday aims to strip the Supreme Court of its power to review the “reasonability” of government decisions — a safeguard that proponents say is needed to prevent corruption and improper political appointments.
The Netanyahu govern-ment, which took office in December, is the most hard-line ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox in Israel’s 75-year history. His allies proposed the sweeping changes to the judiciary after the country held its fifth elections in under four years, all of them seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s fitness to serve as prime minister while on trial for corruption.
Critics of the judicial overhaul say it will upset the country’s fragile system of checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of Netanyahu and his allies. They also say Netanyahu has a conflict of interest because he is on trial for charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes. (AP)