TEL AVIV, July 24. /TASS/. Opponents of judicial reform in Israel have blocked one of the busy highways in Jerusalem, where on Monday the Knesset (the country's parliament) approved the first law of the controversial project to transform the country's judicial system.
The Times of Israel reported that groups of protesters are taking to Begin Road, a major thoroughfare that runs from north to south Jerusalem. Traffic on the highway is partially blocked.
At the same time, a spontaneous rally of opponents of judicial reform is taking place near the Supreme Court building, the newspaper reported. Thousands of demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans and spoke out against the policies of the ruling coalition. "Democracy or revolt!" the demonstrators shouted. Activists are calling on all of Israel to join the protest in the coming hours.
Earlier on Monday, Knesset legislators approved in final reading the first law within the framework of judicial reform. Sixty-four members of the 120-seat parliament from the ruling coalition voted in favor of the bill, while 56 opposition lawmakers boycotted the final vote and walked out of the hall during the session.
The legislators voted on a bill to repeal the so-called principle of reasonableness, which is part of the Israeli government's planned judicial reform and represents one of the most important and controversial aspects of the plan to reform the Jewish state’s judicial system. Once enshrined in law, the bill will limit the powers of Israel's Supreme Court, which to date has had the power to block any government decision deemed legally unreasonable; the reform will now curtail these powers.
Opponents of the reform say the cabinet's proposed plan to transform the judiciary system undermines the foundations of Israel's democracy. The Netanyahu-led government insists that, on the contrary, the reform will make the country's political system more democratic. Attempts by the ruling coalition and the opposition to find a compromise solution to the problem have so far failed, despite the mediation efforts of the country’s president Isaac Herzog.