Israel braces for massive protests ahead of new judicial reform vote

The country has been rocked by seven months of demonstrations which last week shut down central Tel Aviv

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. AP

Israel was on edge on Sunday ahead of a parliament vote on judicial reform that critics warn could set back democracy in the country and centralise power in the hands of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Last week, protests in Tel Aviv closed off a major motorway in the city, causing chaos for commuters after local police commissioner Ami Eshed resigned, having refused to take tough measures against demonstrators, which were called for by controversial National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Anticipating more protests after the Monday vote, Mr Netanyahu summoned his attorney-general for a cabinet meeting about police counter-measures. Last week, one of the country’s largest supermarket chains said it would shut down its stores for a day if the judicial reform passes in parliament.

Mr Netanyahu’s government has been in a standoff with protestors for seven months, pushing for an overhaul of the country’s judiciary that would change the composition of a panel that selects Supreme Court judges.

This has led to the largest demonstrations in the country’s history, bringing hundreds of thousands of people to the streets and sparking industrial action that has even extended to the security sector, with some servicemen and women withholding their military service.

Reasonableness controversy

On Monday, parliament will hold a vote on a key aspect of the reforms, the abolition of the judicial “reasonableness” doctrine, which is applied by courts to cabinet decisions.

The doctrine has allowed the Supreme Court to intervene in government decisions and sometimes overrule them when they do not meet the criteria to be deemed “reasonable.”

Government decisions are generally deemed unreasonable by the courts when they perceive an abuse of power or a decision that fails to consider the needs of communities affected by government actions. Critics say whether something is reasonable or not is subjective and that the doctrine allows unelected judges to interfere with how elected officials run the country.

But supporters of the status quo say the reasonableness doctrine is important and has stopped the government from abusing power.

One of its potential impacts would be on the appointment of ministers. Mr Netanyahu was forced to dismiss cabinet member Aryeh Deri in January after intervention by the Supreme Court over a previous tax evasion conviction.

Protest organisers have announced a day of demonstrations for Tuesday.

Amit Lev, 40, a tech executive, said: "If we don't stop what is happening now, there'll be no going back."

He said the draft law to be introduced on Monday "is part of a series of laws, each of which allows the passage of the other".

These laws, he said, aim "to prevent the judiciary from criticising government decisions that do not fall under the remit of any other law".

On Sunday, Benny Gantz, chairman of the opposition Blue and White Coalition, accused Mr Netanyahu and Mr Ben-Gvir of creating a "horror show" over the right to protest, saying their actions raised "the concern that the government is not seeking equal enforcement, but rather bullying enforcement."

Nira, a 59-year-old physiotherapist who preferred not to give her last name, said: "If this law passes we will not be able to live as we wish. I'm not at peace right now about our future here."

Israeli media estimated turnout at Saturday's protest in Tel Aviv - the 27th since the reform agenda was unveiled in January - at 150,000, ahead of a parliamentary vote on a key provision of the proposed overhaul, set to take place on Monday.

Police did not give the number of demonstrators.

"We must act against what the Netanyahu government is doing to our country and to the Israeli dream," historian Yuval Noah Harari told the rally.

"If the Netanyahu government does not stop, it will soon learn what happens when we get angry," he said.

Police used water cannons to disperse around 100 demonstrators who blocked a main highway in the coastal city, AFP reported.