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| Big protest in Israel: 'A deal has been reached between Iran and Saudi Arabia, but this government is busy crushing democracy' |
Thousands of Israelis participated in nationwide anti-government protests against plans to overhaul the judicial system in Israel.
The anti-government protests have been going on for 10 weeks, but Saturday's protest has been called "one of the biggest protests in the country's history".
A record number of protesters came out in various cities including the Israeli city of Haifa. According to an estimate, there were around two hundred thousand protestors in Tel Aviv.
According to analysts, these reforms in the judicial system will harm democracy, but the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that the proposed changes in the judicial system will prove better for the voters.
According to the organizers of the protests, around 500,000 pro-democracy citizens took to the streets across the country on Saturday.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz called it "the biggest demonstration in the country's history" in its headlines.
Israel's opposition leader Yair Lapid said in a speech during protests in the southern city of Beersheba that the country is currently going through the "biggest crisis in its history".
He said that we are constantly facing threats of terrorism. Our economy is collapsing, and money (instead of the national treasury) is moving out.
"Iran signed a new deal with Saudi Arabia, but our government cares about nothing but crushing Israeli democracy."
"This is not a judicial reform, but a revolution that is leading Israel to a total dictatorship," Tamir Gatsabri, a protester who attended the demonstration in Tel Aviv, told Reuters. I want Israel to remain democratic for my children.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Israel against the government's judicial reform plan.
The reforms will give the elected government decisive influence over the selection of judges while also limiting the powers of the Supreme Court to legislate against the executive.
These reforms have created deep societal and social divisions within Israel, and concerns are being raised especially in the reserve army, which is the backbone of Israel's military. They have also threatened to refuse work to show their opposition to reforms in the judicial system.
Dozens of reservist pilots in an elite Israeli air force squadron refused to attend their training on Monday but later agreed to return to the training course after negotiations with their commanders.
Protesters on Thursday blocked roads leading to the airport and tried to disrupt Prime Minister Netanyahu's departure on an overseas trip.
However, Netanyahu somehow managed to leave for Rome.
On the other hand, the government is standing firm in front of this protest that has been going on for several weeks. The government has claimed that these protests are being fueled by political opponents.
Critics say reforms to the judicial system, which are already under consideration by parliament, could lead to political influence rather than an independent judiciary and lead to an authoritarian regime.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Netanyahu says that these reforms are designed to prevent the courts from overstepping their authority and that they have the authority to make reforms because they were elected by the Israeli people.