Thousands of Israeli protesters across the occupied Palestinian lands have taken to the streets on 18th consecutive week of rallies against the judicial reforms proposed by the far-right cabinet of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli protesters take to streets on 18th week of anti-Netanyahu rallies
7 May 2023 - 12:14
Thousands of Israeli protesters across the occupied Palestinian lands have taken to the streets on 18th consecutive week of rallies against the judicial reforms proposed by the far-right cabinet of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Protesters gathered in the Habima Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday, waving flags and chanting slogans against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they prepared to march on Kaplan Street, a major thoroughfare in the central section of the city.
A demonstrator held up a picture of far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, with a caption reading "the minister of national failure."
In the central city of Rehovot, hundreds of protesters rallied as they waved flags and blocked a major road junction.
Protest organizers said in a statement released earlier that Netanyahu’s cabinet is waiting to turn Israel into a "messianic and dangerous dictatorship," while underlying the economic cost of the regime’s refusal to ditch the reforms altogether.
"As long as the deliberations in the president's house continue, no investment is entering Israel and the Israeli economy is crashing," the organizers said.
The rallies have been a weekly fixture since January when the regime announced the reforms that also seek to give Netanyahu's extremist cabinet effective control over the appointment of the Supreme Court's judges.
Netanyahu's coalition, a combination struck between his Likud party and extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox political allies, argues that changes are needed to rebalance power between the executive and judicial branches of the regime.
Saturday’s rallies were held despite Netanyahu announcing a pause in legislation for the reforms more than a month ago, following weeks of mass protests and a general strike.
The general public, however, is still skeptical of the premier's intentions as seen by monumental rallies across the occupied territories since January, when the Israeli regime's cabinet started paving the way for the implementation of the changes.
Story Code: 592635