Tens of thousands of people in Israel continue to protest against judicial reform

Tens of thousands of protesters in Israel again turned out to rally against the plans of the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to carry out judicial reform.

The protesters intend to continue to take to the streets across the country until the government's plans to overhaul the judiciary are "completely shelved."

According to The Times of Israel, the police dispersed the protesters who left the main Israeli highway Ayalon tonight with water cannons.

Israeli police detain a protester during a demonstration against government plans to overhaul the judiciary in Tel Aviv April 15, 2023 JACK GUEZ/AFP

The representative of the Israeli branch of the international movement Umbrella Movement, one of the organizers of the protest movement, Josh Drill said:

“One hundred and fifteen thousand Israelis protesting in the center of Tel Aviv, as well as in dozens of other cities throughout the State of Israel, testify to our resilience and faith in democracy. [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's attempt to lull the national protest will not work. We will continue to protest until the legal coup is completely postponed."

In early January, the new Israeli government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, presented a draft reform, the essence of which is to weaken the judiciary and deprive the highest judicial authority of the ability to overturn laws. The idea caused discontent among a significant part of society, and protests began in the country. On March 11, the opposition announced the largest action in the history of the country: 500,000 people took to the streets of Israeli cities, about half in Tel Aviv. At the end of March, due to protests, the country's largest airport, Ben Gurion, canceled all flights. After that, Netanyahu announced the suspension of judicial reform and postponed the adoption of the amendments until the summer.

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