Israeli demonstrators block the central highway in Tel Aviv

(Sputnik) – Protesters against Israel’s controversial judicial reform have blocked Tel Aviv’s main highway, reports Sputnik’s reporter.
More than 100,000 people gathered for a demonstration in central Tel Aviv on the 27th consecutive Saturday. Most of the demonstrators dispersed on Saturday night (8), but a group blocked the Ayalon highway, and chanted anti-government slogans. Police forces on the Ayalon highway have been withdrawn, but no measures have been taken to disperse the demonstrators so far, according to the reporter.

Last Saturday, some 130,000 people protested judicial reform in Tel Aviv alone, with a total of 300,000 protesting in Israel. Earlier this week, Israeli police used water cannons to disperse protesters blocking the Ayalon highway in Tel Aviv in response to the dismissal of the city’s police chief, Ami Eshid.

In late March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the suspension of the legislative process of judicial reform in order to negotiate and reach an agreement with his opponents. The decision came against the backdrop of mass protests across the country against reform. Despite the suspension, protesters continue to take to the streets, fearing that reform will undermine democracy in Israel and push the country to the brink of a social and constitutional crisis.

The bill aims to destabilize the judicial system in Israel. If adopted, it could reduce the Supreme Court’s power to review and strike down laws it deems unconstitutional and give the government more say in choosing judges. Netanyahu said in late June that the Israeli government would abandon the most controversial part of the judicial reform, designed to allow parliament (the Knesset) to overturn Supreme Court decisions.