Protests mount in Israel as army reservists threaten to refuse duty

Days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed through new legislation that curbs judicial review by the country's apex court of some government decisions, protesters continue to ramp up the pressure. On Saturday night, tens of thousands of flag-waving Israelis took to the streets and renewed their protests against the unpopular reforms.

From northern Galilee to the avenues crisscrossing the financial hub of Tel Aviv, protesters converged, beating drums and blaring horns, according to a Reuters report.

"We all don't see any future if this will keep on going.We are not united. We lost our unity,"Yariv Shavit, 53, an engineer in Israel's high-tech sector, protesting on the street was quoted as saying.

On Monday (July 24), Netanyahu's government passed the first part of a judicial overhaul that has been envisioned for long.Called the “reasonableness bill”, it seeks to strip the top court of the power to declare government decisions unreasonable.

The reasonableness bill is just one part of a broader package of reforms targeted at Israel's judicial system by the right-wing coalition.

However, the protests which are in their 30th week, have swelled with more and more common Israelis joining the movement, thereby opening up a deep social divide in the country.

‘We’re angry’, say army reservists

Such has been the situation that army reservists are now threatening to refuse duty, per The Guardian.

“Half of my company was blown up in Lebanon. I have given many years of my life defending this country,”said Allon, one of the leaders of a pressure group representing 60,000 Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reservists.

“That’s why we are so angry. The government is breaking a very simple contract we have – to protect a Jewish and democratic Israel," he added.

The IDF was formed byDavid Ben-Gurion, the country's founder, to bring together Israelis fromdiverse ethnic, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds, and help build a sense of social cohesion.

However, the controversial reforms by Netanyahu threaten to undo the 'apolitical melting pot' of IDF, experts argue.

Notably, this is not the first instance when reservists from critically important units, such as pilots, have threatened to refuse service. In the past, the same hashappenedover issues such as the SecondLebanon War and thedisengagement from the Gaza Strip. However, the country has never seen civil disobedience on this level before.

There are approximately465,000 reservists in the country who play a pivotal part, even during peacetime when they can be called up for as many as 60 days a year to serve the army.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE: