Tens of thousands of demonstrators protest against Netanyahu's 'judicial reforms' for 14th consecutive week
Tens of thousands of protesters have rallied across the occupied territories for the 14th straight week, condemning the highly contentious "judicial reforms" proposed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The biggest demonstration was held in the coastal city of Tel Aviv on Saturday, with the participants chanting slogans against the so-called overhaul plan.
Protesters brandished signs reading, "Freedom for all!" and "Netanyahu is leading us to war."
"We're still going to come here and say loud and clear that we will not let this reform pass," one protester told Reuters.
Other smaller demonstrations took place in the cities of Kfar Saba and Haifa, respectively in the central and northern parts of the occupied territories, as well as in the holy occupied city of al-Quds.
Organizers said around 258,000 people attended the protest rallies, but the regime's authorities gave no figures of their own.
Netanyahu paused the reforms last month, which were receiving rubberstamp approval in the Knesset, as the protests showed no sign of abating and were even compounded by a wave of strikes.
The changes seek to give members of the regime's extremist cabinet nearly unchecked power over the Supreme Court by enabling them to easily overrule the court's decisions.
The proposals also seek to give Netanyahu's cabinet effective control over the appointment of the Supreme Court's judges.
The cabinet, however, a coalition between Netanyahu's Likud party and extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox parliamentary allies, argues that the changes are needed to rebalance the power between legislators and the judiciary.
Also last month, Netanyahu announced the firing of his minister for military affairs, Yoav Gallant, who had cited a threat to the regime's security because "the growing social rift" that had emanated from the proposals, had made its way into the army and security agencies.
The latest in a series of protests against the plan came as Israel faces a sharp rise in tensions on several fronts during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
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