More than 630,000 protesters protest in Israel against judicial reform

March 25 (EUROPA PRESS) –

More than 630,000 people have taken to the streets of the main cities of Israel this Saturday to protest against the controversial judicial reform promoted by the Government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to data from the organizers.

Of the total, up to 300,000 correspond to the most massive mobilization, that of Tel Aviv, according to the Israeli newspaper ‘The Times of Israel’.

This is already the 12th consecutive week of protests against the judicial reform, which gives the government absolute control over the appointment of Supreme Court judges and prevents courts from vetoing rules passed by Parliament. The rule must be definitively approved next week.

The main novelty this Saturday is the announcement by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in which he urges Netanyahu to paralyze the judicial reform process, a position supported by Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, thus opening the first fissures in the government.

In Tel Aviv, historian Yuval Noah Harari has stressed that the military must obey the courts and not the government, or else Israel will fall into a constitutional crisis.

“We know that you (Netanyahu) are responsible for everything that is happening. You are not an emissary. It is evident that you are not an angel. After 2,000 years we continue to remember Pharaoh and we will remember you. There will be no street, square or airport with his name, but we will tell the story of the man who tried to enslave us and failed,” he snapped.

“He is surrounded by people without guts, but we do have guts (…). We will not be slaves. Next year we will be a free people,” he stressed.

Dozens of protesters have jumped onto the Ayalon highway to block the road. The Police have used tear gas to disperse the protest and have made twelve arrests.

In addition to Tel Aviv, there have been demonstrations in other cities, such as Jerusalem, Haifa or Beersheba. On Route 65 in northern Israel, four more people have been arrested for throwing flares while hundreds of people blocked the Karkur crossing.