Protesters aim to block Netanyahu’s Italy trip as he looks for escape route

Israeli regime's embattled premier Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly planning to take a helicopter from the occupied al-Quds to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Thursday to catch a flight to Italy as he looks for an escape route from anti-regime protests.

Israel's public broadcaster Kan said anti-Netanyahu demonstrators are seeking to block the roads in Tel Aviv and prevent 100 flights from leaving the occupied territories as a mark of protest against Netanyahu's controversial plans to "reform" the judiciary.

Organizers of the protest movement are reported to be preparing for a “day of resistance to the dictatorship” on March 9, a week after a “day of disruption” that saw massive rallies across Israel, roadblocks by demonstrators and heavy-handed police response in Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu has postponed meetings planned for Thursday to Friday, anticipating trouble in flying out of Israel, according to reports by the Israeli Channel 13.

Netanyahu's trip to meet his Italian counterpart, which is one of the first international visits since retaking office in December, comes amid intense division and opposition to his far-right cabinet’s policies.

Last week, Netanyahu's travel plans faced complications when the Israel airliner El Al was unable to find pilots to fly him, his wife and his extended delegation to Italy as a result of opposition to his cabinet’s judicial reform schemes.

Israeli police fire stun grenades, tear gas as anti-regime protests rage on

Israeli police use tear gas, water cannons and stun grenades to disperse protests against Netanyahu’s judicial reform.

The development came as many Israeli flight crews threatened to boycott work over the widely-bashed judicial reforms, with 37 out of 40 reserve pilots in the regime’s air force squadron saying they would not attend a training session.

Media reports also said Israel's security community and police forces have heavily criticized Netanyahu’s cabinet’s hardline policy, with troops from several military units vowing to join the Thursday protests.

Protests have taken place across the occupied territories over the past two months since Netanyahu's controversial move to reform the judiciary.

Protesters argue that the legal changes threaten the independence of judges and weaken oversight of the ruling cabinet and parliament. They say the plan will undermine the rights of minorities and open the door to more corruption in the regime, which is already imploding from within.

They say the so-called "reform" is meant to help Netanyahu avoid repercussions of his ongoing corruption cases, including bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.

The embattled premier, however, claims the reforms are required to curtail the jurisdiction of the sitting judges, whom he accuses of having too much power.

The simmering anti-regime protests have prompted many political observers to predict the implosion of the apartheid regime from within, with even far-right Netanyahu loyalists seeing no escape route for him and his cabinet.

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