Israel
Huge protest rally in Israel against judicial reform: Reports
Jerusalem: Tens of thousands of people hit the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa on Saturday to oppose the contentious judicial reform, even though it was put on hold earlier this week until the Knesset's summer session, Israeli media reported.
Demonstrators swamped the streets in central Tel Aviv and blocked key highways in the city, The Times of Israel reported, adding that numerous police units were on duty at the scene.
Israeli police used water cannons to disperse the protesters blocking one of Tel Aviv's main highways, a Sputnik correspondent reported later in the day.
Rallies are planned in 150 locations across Israel on Saturday, making it the 13th week of demonstrations against the divisive judicial overhaul, the newspaper said. According to the protests' organizers, as many as 450,000 people are rallying throughout the country, with 230,000 in Tel Aviv alone.
In January, Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin rolled out a legal reform package that would limit the authority of the Supreme Court by giving the cabinet control over the selection of new judges, as well as allowing the Knesset to override the court's rulings with an absolute majority.
The reforms, opponents argue, will undermine democracy in Israel and put the country on the verge of a social and constitutional crisis.
For the last three months, tens of thousands of people have been protesting throughout Israel against the reform.
On Monday, after long and hard talks with his coalition partners, Netanyahu agreed to put the legislation on hold until the summer session of the Knesset. Despite this fact, the protests' organizers are wary that the controversial law may be swiftly put to a vote and pledged to continue rallying until the planned reform is scrapped altogether.
(With UNI/SPUTNIK inputs)
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