The government temporarily suspended plans to overhaul Israel’s justice system after protesters staged one of the biggest street protests in the country’s history, now in its 18th week.
The amendments give the government full control over the appointment of Supreme Court justices and allow parliament to overturn many of its decisions.
The government accuses militant judges of increasing their usurpation of the powers of parliament and says the judicial amendments are needed to restore the balance between the judiciary and elected politicians.
Critics of these amendments say they will disrupt the checks and balances mechanism, which is the basis of the democratic system and gives the government unchecked power.
Crowds gathered in central Tel Aviv on Saturday to protest the plans, which they see as a threat to Israel’s democratic climate.
Israel’s Channel 12 estimates indicate that 110,000 people took part in the protests in Tel Aviv alone, while other protests were staged across the country.
In Tel Aviv, Bental Shamir, a teacher who took part in the protests, told Reuters: “I am very worried about my country. I don’t want a corrupt state.”
The government has put the amendments on hold in a bid to give Israeli President Isaac Herzog time to reach a consensus between the coalition and the opposition that could loosen the legislation, but efforts have so far yielded nothing .
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