Walla: in Jerusalem, protesters broke through the police cordon near the residence of Netanyahu

TEL AVIV, Mar 26 — In Jerusalem, thousands of protesters broke through the police cordon near the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Walla reported.

“After the resignation of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, thousands of protesters against the legal revolution this evening broke through the last police checkpoint in front of the residence of the prime minister in Jerusalem, the highway towards Jerusalem was blocked to traffic,” the publication says.

According to media reports, local police began to push back the demonstrators with water cannons.

After Gallant’s dismissal, Israel’s Consul General in New York, Asaf Zamir, also decided to leave his post, noting that the ongoing judicial reform “undermines” the foundation of the country’s democratic system.

Another mass protest began in Israel on Sunday evening after the prime minister dismissed the head of the Ministry of Defense, who the day before called for a suspension of the reform of the legal system.

Earlier, the organizers of the protest movement against judicial reform in Israel announced a “week of paralysis”, which implies large-scale rallies throughout the country. Israelis have been protesting judicial reform for the twelfth week in a row. So, on the eve of the number of demonstrators who joined the protests in Tel Aviv, reached 200 thousand people.

Various groups of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reservists repeatedly wrote open letters to the government demanding a stop to judicial reform and, in protest, refused to serve in the reserve, among them were elite units and air force pilots.

The Netanyahu government’s proposed package of laws will significantly limit the powers of the Supreme Court, as well as give the authorities control over the appointment of judges. At the same time, the prime minister expressed readiness for a dialogue with the opposition regarding this reform.