Hundreds of thousands of Israelis demonstrated against the Prime Minister’s government Benjamin Netanyahu since last January. The repeated protest rallies are notable for their scope and are among the largest in the history of Israel. They also stand out for their length, as protesters return to the streets again and again, and also because of the eclectic/diverse crowd of protesters that participate in them.

Citizen groups not accustomed to participating in anti-government activism have now taken an open stance against the reforms being promoted by the Netanyahu government. There is no one in the ranks of the protesters reservists and retired soldiers, bankers and investors, technical workers, even former prime ministers (Ehud Barak, Yair Lapid) and ministers (Tzipi Livni).

Yesterday was “tagged” by critics of the government as “day of resistance to dictatorship“”day of action against the dictatorship“, where protesters block Netanyahu’s way to the airport (where he wanted to fly in order to “fly away” to Rome), and the Israeli Prime Minister bypasses the obstacles by getting into a helicopter…

It was preceded by two months of mass mobilizations in the country, directed mainly against reforms of the justice system promoted by the government.

Critics of Netanyahu and his government associates (including ultra-Orthodox and far-right politicians such as Itamar Ben Gvir And Bezalel Smotrich) complain that the government is promoting changes that would weaken the independence of the judiciary and the Supreme Court, thereby undermining, in their favor, institutional balances and mechanisms for control and separation of powers.

At the same time, however, opposition circles are complaining that the Netanyahu government is practically preparing to begin annexation of the occupied West Bank.

Jonathan Guyer writes in American Vox that the Republic of Israel is going through a period of crisis. In fact, he argues that this crisis is inextricably linked to “the undermining of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories.” “Netanyahu and his partners are following the shock doctrine, which leads to the paralysis of the Israeli system of government and the complete restructuring of the Israeli occupation. […] The Netanyahu government is proposing radical changes in the way the occupied West Bank is run and other legal changes within Israel that will seriously affect the Palestinians,” Guyer complains on the pages of American Vox.

Benjamin Netanyahu (who is also known to be on trial for corruption) was re-elected as prime minister for a sixth term as prime minister in November 2022, along with his faction, the Likudto provide a percentage of 23.41%. However, the new coalition government he formed is considered the most far-right in Israel’s history.

From the moment they came to power, this government began pushing for reforms that, if passed, would greatly limit the power of the supreme court. Under these changes, the government and a simple majority of Knesset members will be able to influence the appointment of judges, limit the powers of the Attorney General, and overturn decisions of the Supreme Court, which they will not be able to do in the future. “easy” to reject laws as unconstitutional.

Netanyahu and his partners in government are positive about the justice reforms being promoted, but each for their own reasons, as stated in the related Vox article: Netanyahu because he can personally avoid charges against him, ultranationalist settlementists because it could pave the way for annexation West Bank and ultra-Orthodox, because it reduces the likelihood that their military exemption will be found unconstitutional.

Netanyahu’s party and his government partners argue that the Supreme Court has become more powerful in recent years than it should be.

However, government critics disagree and take to the streets. And this, in fact, at a time when tensions between Israelis and Palestinians are flaring dangerously at the same time.

According to Vox