For the eighth week in a row

Thousands of Israelis demonstrate again against the draft amendment to the justice system

An Israeli soldier clashes with a protester in Tel Aviv. AFP

Thousands of Israelis demonstrated for the eighth week in a row in the streets of Tel Aviv yesterday evening to protest against a controversial amendment to the judicial system that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to pass and which they see as an attack on democracy.

The demonstration came after the Israeli parliament approved in a first reading last Tuesday two key provisions of the amendment. The first text makes the Supreme Court incompetent to annul any amendment to the Basic Laws that constitute the Constitution in Israel, while the second text introduces an "exception" clause that allows parliament to overturn some Supreme Court decisions by a simple majority of 61 votes out of 120 members of parliament.

Demonstrators in central Tel Aviv chanted "democratic democracy" and "we will not surrender" waving Israeli flags. The government, which Netanyahu formed last December as part of a coalition that included right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties, announced the draft amendment of the judicial system at the beginning of this year, and opponents of the project considered that it aims to undermine the judiciary in favor of political power, warning that it poses a threat to the democratic system, but Netanyahu and Justice Minister Yariv Levin consider that amending the judicial system is an essential step to restore balance to the branches of power, as the prime minister and his allies consider that Supreme Court justices are politicized and have power. higher than those enjoyed by elected representatives. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called on Israel to suspend the draft amendment to the judicial system for fear of its impact on human rights and the independence of the judiciary, and so far it seems that the demonstrations, which generally denounce government policy, will not dissuade Netanyahu and most of him from their goal. Israeli officials said an armed Palestinian killed two Jewish settlers in their car in the West Bank yesterday, and the shooting took place near the town of Huwwara, which is the scene of frequent friction between Palestinians and settlers.

Two settlers shot dead in the West Bank.