Masses swell on streets in Israel over judicial reforms as Knesset reconvenes

As part of ongoing protests against the controversial judicial reformsproposed by the Benjamin Netanyahu government, demonstrations took place across Israel on Saturday night. With the Knesset set to reconvene for its summer session on Sunday, there may be another attempt to pass the legislation that would allegedly severely restrict the judiciary.

According to an estimate by the Israeli company Crowd Solutions, there were almost 200,000 people present at the major Tel Aviv rally. The company anticipated that an additional 30,000 people would come in Haifa, 18,000 in Kfar Saba, and 16,000 in Netanya. Numerous other cities across the nation also hosted rallies. Nationally, 430,000 participants were listed by the organisers.

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Protests are continuing for over four months now against the conservative coalition's proposals to reform the legal system which will put most judge appointments under government control, and reduce the High Court of Justice's monitoring authority.

The protests on Saturdayentered the 17th week and saw both government supporters and opponents.

In their largest rally to date, supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government crammed the streets around the Knesset in Jerusalem on Thursday.

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The rally was intended to give the coalition public support for its initiatives in the face of strong opposition both domestically and internationally.

National Unity head Benny Gantz from opposition, said it was “unacceptable” that a justice minister “who is supposed to develop and strengthen the [judicial] system, attacks and incites against it.” “The fight is about the image of the country and not just about the legal reform. We will not let extremists from either side take control of the country,” Gants added in a speech during which members of the crowd shouted “no to talks.”

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On Sunday, the Knesset is expected to reconvene after a month.All phases of the parliamentary process for judicial overhaul are completed and the legislation is prepared to be enacted in the coming days, if the Knesset chooses.

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