Protests against judicial reform in Israel

The main rally in Tel Aviv had more than 100,000 demonstrators according to media reports.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Israel on Saturday evening, for the tenth consecutive week, to protest against the reform of the judicial system that the government is trying to impose.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's right-wing and far-right coalition is preparing to speed up the legislative process from Sunday, the first day of the week in Israel, to push through this reform, considered undemocratic by its detractors.

As on previous Saturdays, the main rally took place in central Tel Aviv where protesters, numbering more than 100,000 according to the media, held up a wave of blue and white Israeli flags.

Other protests took place in major cities across the country.

According to Israeli media estimates, Saturday's rallies broke attendance records in the cities of Haifa and Beersheba, with 50,000 and 10,000 people respectively, significant figures reported to Israel's population, just over nine million.

Israel Police do not release estimates of the number of protesters.

Chairman of the Knesset (Parliament) Laws Committee, Simcha Rothman, has scheduled hearings on the judicial reform bill every day from Sunday to Wednesday.

It seems so reject calls to slow down or halt consideration of the texts in the Knesset to allow compromise negotiations and stick strictly to the timetable he announced with Justice Minister Yariv Levin.< /p>

This timetable calls for the adoption of the main elements of the reform before the end of the Knesset's winter session on April 2.

This reform would significantly limit the ability of the Supreme Court to invalidate laws and would effectively give the majority political coalition the power to appoint judges.

Thursday evening, Israeli President Isaac Herzog called for a halt to the legislative process on the judicial reform bill, calling it a threat e on the foundations of democracy.