Thousands of demonstrators converge on the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on Monday to protest against a justice reform bill that they consider dangerous for democracy, before a vote on part of this law scheduled for the evening.
Around noon (10:00 a.m. local time), several hundred gathered near the Knesset (Parliament) and thousands of others, often from afar, converged on the rallying point with Israeli flags, according to AFP journalists. on the spot.
SEE
ALSO
- Ram car attack in Jerusalem: two dead, including a child
"State in danger"
Access to Parliament is closed to the crowd by a police deployment, and the organizers have deployed banners such as "
Minister of Crime
" or "
Fed up with the corrupt
", while a movement calls for tearing down "
the walls of dictatorship
".
The demonstrators chant slogans such as "
Israel is not a dictatorship!"
or even “
Democracy equals dialogue
”.
“
The state is in danger
,” Dvir Bar, a 45-year-old protester from Holon in central Israel, told AFP.
The justice reform project announced in early January by the government is mobilizing a large part of public opinion against it.
This project "
is a coup attempt aimed at transforming Israel into a dictatorship
", believes Dvir Bar.
Read alsoBenyamin Netanyahu slows down the French initiative in the Middle East
In Tel Aviv, demonstrations take place every Saturday evening, bringing together tens of thousands of protesters - a sign of a massive mobilization across the size of the country - denouncing this project as a whole but also the general policy of the government. , formed in December by Benjamin Netanyahu (right) with the help of far-right parties and ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups.
Already on February 13, a monster demonstration had taken place in front of the Parliament while the Commission of the laws began the examination of part of the articles of the law.
SEE
ALSO
- Jerusalem: 4000 years of conflict
Balancing the balance of power
The government's plan includes the introduction of a “
derogation
” clause allowing Parliament to overrule certain decisions of the Supreme Court by a simple majority.
The reform also proposes changes in the process of appointing Supreme Court judges and reducing the powers of legal advisers within ministries.
For Benjamin Netanyahu and his Minister of Justice Yariv Levin, the bill is necessary to restore a balance of power between elected officials and the Supreme Court, which the Prime Minister and his allies deem politicized.
Read alsoIsrael: the Supreme Court invalidates the appointment of a minister of Netanyahu
According to its detractors, the reform, by aiming to reduce the influence of the judiciary in favor of political power, jeopardizes the democratic character of the State of Israel.
"
Without judicial oversight, the government can make all the political decisions it wants without any limitations
," said Kovi Skier, a 33-year-old protester from Givat Shmuel in central Israel.
"
He could take action against women, against Arabs, against religious [...] Everyone will be affected,
" he adds, his daughter in his arms.
On Sunday evening, Israeli President Isaac Herzog - who plays a mainly ceremonial role - expressed his concerns about "
what is happening to Israeli society
".
SEE
ALSO
- Israel: Netanyahu promises a "strong, rapid and precise" response after the attacks in Jerusalem
Deeper divisions
“
We are facing a crucial test.
I see the divisions and cracks between us, which are getting deeper and deeper and more painful
,” he said.
In north Tel Aviv, some 4,000 parents of primary school students demonstrated with their children, joined by members of the teaching staff.
The police announced the arrest of eight activists who tried to block the entrance to the home of an elected official or the roads in the morning.
An attempt to block the house of Tally Gotlib, an elected representative of Likud, the party of Benjamin Netanyahu, was thus strongly criticized both by the Prime Minister and by his predecessor and now opposition leader, Yaïr Lapid.
“
When demonstrators try to prevent elected officials from coming to vote in the Knesset, it is not a legitimate protest
,” said Benjamin Netanyahu.
"
It's not our way of acting, it's not the legal way to protest
," said Yaïr Lapid.
Right-wing voices have also been raised against the implementation of this reform, notably the former head of Shin Beth (internal security) Yoram Cohen who declared on Army Radio on Monday that it was "impossible to change the nature
of the state judicially without a broad agreement
".
SEE
ALSO
- Israel: several thousand people in the street against a project to reform the judicial system