Israelis rally for seventh week against judicial reform

Tens of thousands of Israelis rallied Saturday nationwide for the seventh straight week, days before parliament is due to vote on controversial legal reforms advanced by the government.

The proposed overhaul being pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government would allow parliament to overrule Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority and boost politicians' power over judicial appointment.

A crowd marched through central Tel Aviv, with many of them waving Israeli flags and chanting "democracy", an AFP correspondent said.

Local media said tens of thousands were protesting in Tel Aviv, but did not provide an exact estimate.

"Our future is in danger", said law student Amit Melamed, 24. If Israel "won't be democratic, there's no point in us staying here".

With a pink stripe painted diagonally on each cheekbone, she told AFP she was "personally afraid because I'm a woman, and this government... might pass laws that would prevent me my most basic rights".

Netanyahu and Justice Minister Yariv Levin say the reforms are necessary to correct a power imbalance between elected representatives and Israel's top court.

Protester Nati Ron said the government was "aiming at ruining the democracy we've had for 75 years" since Israel was founded, by "cancelling the courts".

He told AFP the proposed reform left him no choice but to take to the streets on a regular basis.

"This is our country, I fought for it, I lost friends in wars -- they didn't die for a dictatorship. I owe it to them."

President Isaac Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial role, had urged Netanyahu's government to suspend the legislative process and hold talks with the opposition in hopes of reaching a compromise.

But while Netanyahu and other members of his coalition have expressed willingness to talk, they refused to halt legislation, with parliament set to begin voting on two of the new bills Monday.

- 'Erase the court' -

In Jerusalem, hundreds protested the government's plan outside Herzog's residence, while a smaller group of right-wing Israelis held a rally nearby calling for dialogue.

Opposition head Yair Lapid, speaking at a demonstration in the coastal city of Netanya, tied the proposed reform to Netanyahu's ongoing corruption trial.

"The fact they have a majority in parliament doesn't mean... they can erase the Supreme Court just because the prime minister has been indicted."

Some of Netanyahu's critics have argued the premier was seeking to undermine a judicial system he has accused of targeting him unfairly for political reasons.

Netanyahu denies the charges against him of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Earlier Saturday, three war veterans and a truck driver were arrested for stealing an old armoured personnel carrier from a memorial site in northern Israel, police said.

It said the veterans had intended on using the vehicle as part of a protest against the government.

On Thursday, an old tank had been stolen from a memorial site for the same purpose.

Netanyahu returned to power following elections in November, at the head of a coalition with extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties.

The protests have become a weekly fixture on Saturday evenings since Netanyahu's new government took office in late December.

In 2019, Netanyahu refused to step down when he became the first Israeli prime minister to be indicted while in office.