Israel sees historic protest against government, enters 10th week

Tel Aviv: One of the largest protests Israel has ever seen has entered its 10th consecutive week with tens of thousands of people demonstrating across the country. The movement is against the government's judicial reform plans that are being considered a threat to democracy.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government is planning on going ahead with its legislative agenda next week. The chair of the parliament's law committee, Simcha Rotman, will hear the reforms from Sunday through Wednesday before it goes to vote. The administration has rejected the calls for negotiations. Justice Minister Yariv Levin said the plan is to pass key elements of the reforms before the parliament goes into recess on April 2.

According to estimates by Israeli media, Tel Aviv is seeing the biggest demonstration with over 100,000 people. In the northern city of Haifa, around 5,000 people gathered. Beersheba saw 10,000 people. There were no violent incidents. Police arrested three people for blocking traffic.

Many of the protesters were seen carrying the blue and white flag of the country.

Israeli President Issac Herzog has been advocating dialogue and asked the coalition government to halt the legislation. Agreeing with the protestors, he said it is a "threat to the foundations of democracy." Netanyahu's administration took charge in December 2022 and has made judicial overhaul its major focus.

The new legislation will allow the government to influence the committee that selects judges. It will also deny the Supreme Court the power to strike down any amendments. It will also allow the 120-member parliament to overrule Supreme Court's decisions with a majority of 61 votes.