For the third week in a row, tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv against reforms to the justice system proposed by the new far-right Israeli government.
Other smaller protests also took place in Haifa and in occupied Jerusalem, as well as in many other locations across the territories, according to Israeli reports.
In the Tel Aviv rally, politicians in attendance included opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz, former war minister and alternate prime minister.
Earlier this month, Yariv Levin, justice minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government, announced a plan to hand more powers to lawmakers in appointing judges and overriding Supreme Court decisions.
Critics believe Levin’s reforms would cripple judicial independence, foster corruption, set back minority rights and compromise the credibility of the courts system. Among those opposed are the Supreme Court chief justice and the country’s attorney-general, while critics of the Supreme Court say it is overreaching and unrepresentative of the electorate.
The anti-Netanyahu Black Flag movement said earlier this month that Netanyahu was pushing the reforms to escape potential repercussions of his ongoing corruption trial, saying he was destroying democratic institutions by harming the justice system and campaigning against High Court Justices.
Source: Plaestine News & Info Agency