Thousands of Israelis protest against judicial overhaul ahead of independence day

Tel Aviv, Israel

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Saturday to protest against the judicial overhaul plan of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which will tighten the government's control on the Supreme Court.

The protest was held ahead of the country's independence day, which will mark the completion of 75 years since the Jewish state was established.

Last month, the plans for judicial reform were halted by the government in the wake of mass demonstrations and strikes. The latest protest against the government is being planned as Israelis are preparing to mark both Israeli independence day and Israeli memorial day, which will commemorate the people who lost their lives in the country's wars and terror attacks.

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"My father was killed on Yom Kippur War," said 53-year-old photographer Miri Pinchuk while speaking to Reuters. "He gave his life for this country because he was raised up also with the belief that it's going to be a democracy,” he added.

The proposals would be given effective control to the government over the appointment of judges in the Supreme Court and will give power to the parliament to override the decisions taken by the court. The proposed judicial reforms have led to one of the biggest domestic crises in the recent history of Israel.

The activist judges have been accused by the government of increasingly usurping the parliament's role. The government claims that a judicial overhaul is required to restore the balance between the elected politicians and the judiciary.

Critics said that it will remove important checks and balances underpinning a democratic country and hand unchecked power to the government.

"There is this sentence from the bible, from David's lamentation, saying 'How heroes fell'. And actually, the question now turns to instead of 'How heroes fell?', to 'For what?'," said 63-year-old lawyer David Gilat while speaking to Reuters.

Israel's public broadcaster released a poll on Friday which found that the proposed plans are deeply unpopular among people, with 53 per cent stating that they believe the judicial reforms will harm the country.

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In the poll, around 60 per cent of the citizens said that the government is not representing them while 48 per cent believe that the country's situation will only deteriorate in future.

For the 16th week consecutively, crowds gathered in central Tel Aviv to show their defiance against the plans of judicial reform which they feel is an existential threat to the democracy of Israel.

The protesters were waving the blue and white Israeli flags which have become a hallmark of the demonstrations going on for the past three months.