Middle East

Protests Erupt Across Israel as Netanyahu’s Judicial Overhaul Passes Key Vote

‘SHAME!’

The bill seeks to restrict the power of the country’s Supreme Court.

Protesters clashed with police in Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans for a judicial overhaul passed a key vote.
Nir Elias/Reuters

Protesters clashed with police in Israel on Tuesday as part of demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans for a judicial overhaul. The revised bill on Monday passed one of three votes needed to become law, which would allow the government to overturn the Supreme Court’s decisions if elected officials deemed rulings unreasonable. Authorities used water cannons to disperse crowds who gathered at major intersections around the country chanting “shame” in the wake of the vote. Mounted police have also been used to break up the crowds with local media reporting dozens of arrests around the country. Netanyahu was forced to suspend plans for the overhaul in March after his religious-nationalist government’s proposals sparked unprecedented protests in Israel, though he vowed at the time he would “not give up” on the plans.

Read it at Reuters