Thousands march into Jerusalem ahead of vote on curtailing court's power

Protesters have been walking for days and camping out overnight

Protesters marching near Motza, on the western edge of Jerusalem, on Saturday. Reuters

Thousands of Israelis marched into Jerusalem on Saturday to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the country's judiciary, as pressure mounts on his right-wing government to scrap a bill that would curtail the Supreme Court's powers.

Mr Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition says the bill, which Parliament is scheduled to vote on by Monday, is needed to balance out the branches of power because the Supreme Court has become too interventionist.

The prime minister's critics say the court has a crucial role in safeguarding civil rights, in a country that has no constitution and a single-chamber parliament dominated by the government.

Also on Saturday, more than 100 of Israel's former security chiefs signed a letter pleading with the Israeli premier to halt the legislation, and thousands of additional military reservists said they would no longer report for duty, in a protest against the plan.

Carrying blue and white Israeli flags, a column of protesters several kilometres long marched up the main highway to Jerusalem under a scorching summer sun, to the sounds of beating drums and anti-government chants and cheers.

The marchers have been walking for days, camping out overnight and often met by local residents offering food and drink.

They are planning to rally outside parliament ahead of a Sunday debate and subsequent vote on the bill, which would limit the Supreme Court's powers to void what it considers “unreasonable” government or ministerial decisions.

Protest leader Shikma Bressler said she did not know whether the marchers would manage to stop the vote.

“But the vote is not the last step,” she told Reuters. “This is why we are trying to build the forces in this country to choose right from wrong, to choose light from darkness.”

Over 100 top former security chiefs, including retired military commanders, police commissioners and heads of intelligence agencies joined those calls on Saturday, signing a letter to Mr Netanyahu blaming him for compromising Israel’s military and urging him to halt the legislation.

The signatories included Ehud Barak, a former Israeli prime minister, and Moshe Yaalon, a former army chief and defence minister. Both are political rivals of Netanyahu.

“The legislation is crushing those things shared by Israeli society, is tearing the people apart, disintegrating the IDF and inflicting fatal blows on Israel’s security,” the former officials wrote.

President Joe Biden has also urged Mr Netanyahu to halt the plan and seek a broad consensus.

“The legislative process violates the social contract that has existed for 75 years between the Israeli government and thousands of reserve officers and soldiers from the land, air, sea, and intelligence branches who have volunteered for many years for the reserves to defend the democratic state of Israel, and now announce with a broken heart that they are suspending their volunteer service,” the letter said.

The bill, its supporters say, is designed to facilitate effective governance with courts still keeping ample judicial oversight. Opponents say the change is being rushed through parliament and will open the door to corruption and abuses of power.

Polls suggest widespread misgivings among Israelis as the planned changes have dented the economy and worried key ally Washington, which has urged Mr Netanyahu – who is on trial on corruption charges that he denies – to seek consensus on judicial reforms.

The crisis has even sown divisions within the military, long viewed as an apolitical melting pot for a fractious society, with concerns about war-readiness voiced on both sides of the debate.

– With reporting from agencies