- Title: Timeline of Israel's judiciary bill protests
- Date: 27th March 2023
- Summary: Tens of thousands of Israelis flocked to Tel Aviv on January 28 to protest against judicial reform plans by Netanyahu's new government, but turnout is expected to be lower this Saturday following a weekend of violence during which a Palestinian gunman shot dead seven Israelis on the outskirts of Jerusalem and another shooting attack in the city on Saturday wounded two people. TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (FILE - JANUARY 28, 2023) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS HOLDING UP BANNERS PROTESTER IN COSTUME OF NETANYAHU IN PRISON UNIFORM AND CUFFS, RAISING HIS HANDS CHILDREN WITH FLAGS WOMAN CHANTING (Hebrew): 'DEMOCRACY' PROTESTERS SINGING VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS PROTESTERS LIGHTING UP CANDLES IN MEMORY OF FRIDAY'S SYNAGOGUE ATTACK WHICH KILLED SEVEN ISRAELIS IN A SETTLEMENT ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF JERUSALEM WOMAN AT PROTEST WIPING HER TEARS ISRAELI AND RAINBOW FLAGS FLYING
- Embargoed: 11th April 2023 00:21
- Keywords: Israel Judiciary Netanyahu protests reform
- Location: VARIOUS
- City: VARIOUS
- Country: Israel
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Middle East,Civil Unrest
- Reuters ID: LVA00C051527032023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paused his signature plan to overhaul Israel's judiciary after a day of nationwide turmoil when workers joined a general strike against the proposal and hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets.
The plans by his nationalist religious coalition to hand control over judicial appointments to the executive while giving parliament the power to overturn Supreme Court rulings has ignited one of the biggest internal crises in Israeli history.
Announcing his decision late on Monday (March 27) to suspend the plans until parliament returns after the break for the Passover holiday and Independence Day next month, Netanyahu said the crisis required all sides to act responsibly.
While Netanyahu and his supporters say the plans would ensure a proper balance between the elected government and the judiciary and would not endanger individual and minority rights, they have drawn sustained and furious opposition.
For months, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities to protest a project its critics say would destroy the checks and balances protecting Israeli democracy.
Netanyahu, currently on trial on corruption charges which he denies, had previously promised the overhaul would not pose a threat to individual rights but had given no sign of giving way on any of its essentials.
The decision to suspend the overhaul followed an extraordinary weekend in which Defence Minister Yoav Gallant was sacked after warning the divisions caused by the plans had affected the military and were threatening national security.
His dismissal by Netanyahu led thousands to take to the streets and Israel's President Isaac Herzog to urge a halt.
The Histadrut trade union organization called a general strike that prompted flights from Ben Gurion airport to be suspended and businesses from banks to McDonald's fast-food restaurants to close.
Coming at a time when Israel faces a prolonged security crisis in the occupied West Bank as well as rising tensions with Iran, Gallant's dismissal had appeared to many a sign that the government had set aside the national interest.
While opposition parties gave a cautious welcome to Netanyahu's decision to suspend the overhaul to allow time to reach an agreement, many protesters remained mistrustful.
(Production: Paul Warren, Olga Vyshnevska, Francesca Halliwell) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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