AP Archive - Israelis block highway in judicial overhaul protest

AP Archive
July 16, 2023
Israelis block highway in judicial overhaul protest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jcv8QZeJcbg
(11 Jul 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tel Aviv - 11 July 2023
++NIGHT SHOTS++
1. Protesters on highway trying to block it, police, some on horses pushing them back
2. Protesters on bridge over highway
3. Police, some on horses, moving protesters back behind road barrier
4. Tilt up from police on horses to protesters
5. Various of protesters with Israeli flags
6. Protesters on bridge with fireworks in background

STORYLINE:
Thousands of Israelis took to the streets in central Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening, briefly blocking a major highway, as demonstrations against the government's contentious plan to overhaul the country's judicial system continued.

The demonstrations came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s parliamentary coalition gave initial approval to a bill to limit the Supreme Court’s oversight powers, pressing forward with a plan that has bitterly divided the nation.

Netanyahu's ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox allies have proposed a series of bills that have provoked months of sustained protests by opponents who say the country is being pushed toward authoritarian rule.

Mass protests have taken place since Netanyahu's far-right government presented the overhaul plan in January, days after taking office.

The protests led Netanyahu to suspend the overhaul in March, but he decided to revive the plan last month after compromise talks with the political opposition collapsed.

The parliamentary vote overnight on Tuesday gave fresh momentum to the protest movement.

The bill still needs to be approved in two more votes, expected by the end of the month, before it becomes law.

AP video shot by: Ami Bentov