07/03/2023 20:31 (act. 07/03/2023 20:31)
In Israel, several opponents of judicial reform demonstrated at Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, on Monday. According to the media, tens of thousands of people attended the rally. Protests were also planned in other cities across the country. In the coastal city of Haifa, hundreds temporarily blocked the port in the morning.
Media reported that security forces violently expelled protesters from the airport’s arrivals hall. There were clashes and almost 40 people were arrested. Before the protest, Israel’s right-wing police minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, urged the police not to capitulate to “troublemakers” and people “who want to undermine democracy”.
Airport authorities and police announced that they wanted to limit the protest to 5,000 participants. The organizers, on the other hand, announced that anyone who wanted to express their protest would come to the airport.
Faced with a major military offensive by the army in the West Bank city of Jenin, lawmaker Danny Danon of the ruling Likud party called for protests and reform debate to be suspended for the time being. Army reservists said in a statement that as long as the reform passes parliament, they will be forced to continue to demonstrate. In protest of the reform, several reservists have failed to show up for duty in the past.
The government is resuming a hiatus in restructuring the judicial system, which aims to weaken the country’s highest court. The government accuses judges of excessive interference in political decisions. Critics see the separation of powers and the democratic order in jeopardy. For months, there were regular mass protests against the project in the country.