Tens of thousands of people rally in Tel Aviv to protest against the government’s proposed judicial overhaul.
Anti-government protests in Israel
Protesters hold a banner depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the words ‘Let my people go’ in Tel Aviv .
Tens of thousands of Israelis have joined protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to overhaul the judiciary, despite soaring tensions after two deadly attacks a day earlier.
The protests against the plans, which were paused last month in the face of a wave of strikes and mass demonstrations, come amid surging violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
As protesters rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday, Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said. Ahed Salim, 20, was hit in the chest and stomach by live fire in Azzun near Qalqilyah, the ministry said.
Separately, the Israeli military said three rockets were launched from Syria toward Israeli territory. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket launches, which caused no damage or casualties.
Around Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, tens of thousands of worshippers were expected for evening prayers amid concerns about a possible repeat of nighttime Israeli police raids this week that were followed by rocket barrages into Israel and Israeli air attacks on Gaza and southern Lebanon.
Israelis were also on edge after a car-ramming in Tel Aviv on Friday that killed an Italian man and wounded five other tourists, hours after a shooting attack killed two Israeli sisters and wounded their mother near an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu has mobilised border police reservists and ordered the army to reinforce security positions to head off possible trouble, amid calls for calm from the United Nations, the European Union and the United States.
People ignore government calls
In central Tel Aviv, crowds waving the blue and white Israeli flags that have become a hallmark of the protests during the past three months gathered in a show of defiance against plans they see as an existential threat to Israeli democracy.
Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, reporting from Tel Aviv, said that some 145,000 people were expected to attend the protest.
“There were calls and warnings issued by the government asking people not to attend the protest today due to the security concerns,” he said.
Source: Aljazeera
