Israelis, who hold demonstrations across the country every Saturday evening against the judicial regulation of the extreme right-wing coalition government led by Prime Minister Netanyahu, again went down to the squares.
While Prime Minister Netanyahu did not take a step back on the draft law on judicial regulation, which is expected to be discussed in the Parliament this week, groups that organize mass protests across the country evaluate the bill as “interference with the judiciary”.
Tens of thousands of Israelis participated in demonstrations in cities such as Tel Aviv, Haifa, West Jerusalem, Birussebi and Netanya.
Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in front of the Government Complex on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv, which hosts the largest demonstration, as it does every week.
According to Israel’s Channel 12 Television, 195 thousand people attended the demonstrations in Tel Aviv.
The demonstrators carried banners that read “Crime Minister” in English against Netanyahu’s prime ministership, and placards criticizing the far-right parties in the coalition government.
On the other hand, former Prime Minister and current opposition leader Yair Lapid reiterated his support for the weeks-long demonstrations in a post on his Twitter account.
Lapid shared, “We do not live in this country just to pay taxes and send our children to the military. In the great darkness of the last few months, a wonderful thing has happened: the liberal camp has woken up.” used the phrases.
Avigdor Lieberman, now the leader of the opposition Israel Our Home Party, who served as the finance and defense ministries in the country, also joined the demonstrations in the city of Haifa.
Protest outside the home of Defense Secretary Gallant
Hundreds of protesters also gathered outside the home of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Amikam, in the north of the country.
Demonstrators reacted to Gallant, who canceled the speech he had planned to hold last week to halt the judicial regulation, following Prime Minister Netanyahu’s initiative.
36 people were detained
Protesters in Tel Aviv blocked the city’s central Ayalon Highway, while Israeli police used water cannon to disperse the protesters.
In a written statement made by the Israeli police, it was stated that 23 people who blocked the highway were detained.
In the demonstrations in West Jerusalem, 3 demonstrators were detained while trying to block the roads by crossing the police barricade.
Also, according to the news of Haaretz, clashes broke out in the city of Or Akiva between two opposing protester groups. The police intervened in the brawl and detained 10 people here.
The controversial judicial regulation of the Netanyahu government
Israeli Minister of Justice Yariv Levin announced on January 5 that they were planning “judicial reform”, which would limit the powers of the Supreme Court and reduce the influence of the judiciary on the selection of judges.
The Supreme Court of Israel, which serves as the highest judicial authority in the country, has the power to overturn the laws passed by the Assembly on the grounds that they are inconsistent with the “fundamental laws” accepted as the draft constitution.
With the announced judicial regulation, it is expected that the authority to overturn the laws enacted by the Assembly will be taken away from the Supreme Court.
The bill, which is expected to be debated in the House this week, envisages that the government have a primary say in nominating Supreme Court members so that it can nominate the Supreme Court President.
The judicial regulation of the government, which restricts the powers of the judiciary and envisages the power to have a say in judicial appointments, was heavily criticized on the grounds that it limited the powers of the judiciary within Israel and internationally.
Mass protests against the Netanyahu government’s judicial regulation have continued for 12 weeks with the participation of hundreds of thousands.