Israeli protesters rallied across the Zionist entity on Saturday evening as part of ongoing demonstrations against the government’s contentious judicial overhaul, with the Knesset set to reconvene for its summer session on Sunday, raising the possibility of a renewed push to pass the explosive bills aimed at radical curtail of the judiciary.
Israeli company Crowd Solutions estimated that around 200,000 Israeli people were gathered at the main protest in Tel Aviv, Channel 13 news reported.
Another 30,000 were estimated to be gathered in Haifa, 18,000 in Kfar Saba and 16,000 in Netanya, the company said. Rallies were held in dozens of other locations around the country. Organizers claimed 430,000 participants across the Israeli entity, according to The Times of Israel.
At the main rally on the so-called Kaplan Street, demonstrators announced that they would ramp up protest activities on Thursday, marking it as “national equality day.”
Amid the rally in Tel Aviv, police said officers detained five people for attempting to enter the Ayalon Highway and block traffic.
Speaking at a rally in the central city of Kfar Saba, opposition leader Yair Lapid railed against Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who has been leading the overhaul push.
“The person who declared war on the Supreme Court cannot be, and will not be, the person who appoints the next president of the Supreme Court,” Lapid said.
National Unity head Benny Gantz, also a key member of the opposition, said it was “unacceptable” that a justice minister “who is supposed to develop and strengthen the [judicial] system, attacks and incites against it.”
Protesters have been gathering for nearly four months against the hardline coalition’s plans to overhaul the judicial system, bring most judicial appointments under government control and curb the oversight powers of the High Court of Justice.
Source: Israeli media
