Tens of thousands of people gather in Tel Aviv to protest the government’s proposed judicial review.
Tens of thousands of Israelis have joined protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to overhaul the judiciary, despite huge tensions following two deadly attacks the day before.
The protests against the plans, which were interrupted last month by a wave of strikes and mass demonstrations, come amid rising violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
As protesters gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday, Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Ahed Salim, 20, was hit in the chest and abdomen by sharp fire in Azzun near Qalqilyah, the ministry said.
Separately, the Israeli military said three missiles were launched from Syria into Israeli territory. Responsibility for the rocket launches, which caused no damage or casualties, was not immediately claimed.
Tens of thousands of worshipers were expected around Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque for evening prayers amid concerns over a possible repeat of nighttime Israeli police raids this week, followed by rocket attacks on Israel and Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and southern Lebanon.
Israelis were also tense after a car crash in Tel Aviv on Friday that killed an Italian man and injured five other tourists, hours after a shooting killed two Israeli sisters and wounded their mother near an illegal Israeli settlement on the occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu has mobilized Border Police reservists and ordered the military to strengthen security positions to prevent potential trouble, amid calls for calm from the United Nations, the European Union and the United States.
People are ignoring government calls
In central Tel Aviv, crowds waving the blue and white Israeli flags that have become a feature of the protests of the past three months converged in a show of defiance against plans they see as an existential threat to Israel’s democracy.
Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, reporting from Tel Aviv, said some 145,000 people were expected to attend the protest.
“There were calls and warnings from the government asking people not to come to the protest today because of security concerns,” he said.
“However, protesters say the government is using security as an excuse and it will not stop them from taking to the streets,” he said.
“They say it is a historic moment for the country and they are here to save democracy in Israel.”
The judicial proposals, which would give the government effective control over the appointment of Supreme Court judges and allow parliament to overturn many court decisions, have sparked one of the largest domestic crises in Israel’s recent history .
Hundreds of thousands of protesters, including army reservists, business leaders, members of Israel’s tech industry and leading academics, have taken part in the confrontation with supporters of Netanyahu’s far-right religious-nationalist coalition.
Al Jazeera senior political analyst Marwan Bishara said the growing crisis further isolates Netanyahu.
He said he was losing control of his government and was being subjected to “blackmail” by his coalition partners.
“He is losing big in the polls in Israel. He also loses the security situation and the so-called stability and prosperity in the country.”
The government, which has accused activist judges of increasingly usurping parliament’s role, said the review is necessary to restore a proper balance between the judiciary and elected politicians.
Critics have said it will remove some of the vital checks and balances that underpin a democratic state and hand over unchecked power to the government.
Ahead of the protests, police had urged people to keep roads clear so emergency services can move freely after Friday’s car collisions on a popular coastal promenade in Tel Aviv.