Israelis flooded city streets on Saturday in the tenth week of statewide protests against the hard-right government’s proposals to limit the Supreme Court’s powers, which critics regard as a threat to judicial independence.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who claims to want to balance the branches of government, has a parliamentary majority with the support of his religious-nationalist coalition partners.
Protests have grown louder as the measures approach passage. The shekel has depreciated. Some reservists have threatened to refuse call-up orders. President Isaac Herzog has requested that the reform be postponed and that a dialogue be initiated.
The protests were mainly peaceful, however, minor injuries and arrests were seen among protestors as police intervened to prevent traffic jams.
Inspector-General Yaacov Shabtai, the national police commander, made an unusual broadcast announcement in which he backed down from plans to relocate the head of Tel Aviv’s police, which some believed foreshadowed intentions to crack down harder on protests.
The now-deferred reassignment was part of a scheduled rotation, according to Shabtai, who added that police would continue to protect authorized demonstrations and would not have any political pressure on the topic.
Netanyahu, who was re-elected to a sixth term in late December, claims the protests are intended to topple him. He is on trial for three counts of corruption and denies any wrongdoing.
