Israelis Hold A Historic Protest Against The Government
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have protested against the government’s judicial plans. The protested has been termed as one of the biggest held in Israel’s history.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the changes – which would curb the power of courts – will restore balance between the branches of government.
At one of Saturday’s rallies, opposition leader Yair Lapid said this was Israel’s “greatest crisis”.
In a separate development, Israeli troops shot dead three armed Palestinians near the West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday, the Israeli army said. It said the gunmen had fired at an Israeli army post.
Palestinian officials have not commented on the incident. There has been a marked surge in violence between Palestinians and Israel in recent months.
On Saturday protest over 500,000 demonstrators took to the streets across Israel for the 10th consecutive week, in what the Haaretz newspaper called “the largest demonstration in the country’s history”.
In Tel Aviv more than 200,000 people were seen carrying Israel’s national flag – to rally against planned reforms by Mr Netanyahu’s hardline government.
According to BBC reporter in the city described the protests as the busiest yet, with a non-stop flow of demonstrators packing the streets until late into the night.
On Thursday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had said he was transferring Mr Eshed to head a training division, amid reports the ultra-nationalist politician accused the commander of being too soft on protesters, whom he calls “anarchists”.
But Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara later overruled Mr Ben-Gvir, saying the decision was being frozen, while national police chief Kobi Shabtai on Saturday said he had “made a mistake” in dismissing Eshed.
The clash over the commander’s position is significant. It comes amid predictions of a possible constitutional crisis, involving Israel’s civil service and security forces being unable to take orders from the government, if no compromise is reached on the planned reforms, says the BBC’s Tom Bateman in Jerusalem.
On Thursday, protesters blocked roads and attempted to stop Mr Netanyahu flying out of the country. He later took off for Rome.
The government has stood firm in the face of the uproar, claiming the protests are being fuelled by political opponents.
Critics say the planned reforms, which are already making their way through parliament, will politicise the judiciary and could lead to an authoritarian government.
Mr Netanyahu says the reforms are designed to stop the courts overreaching their powers and that they were voted for by the Israeli public at the last election.
