Statement says the govt shows 'telltale signs of a dictatorial regime' yet urges protests to remain within the bounds of legality and nonviolence
Israelis protested again on Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposed judicial reform plans, days after he said he had dropped a key provision in the controversial project.
As they have done every Saturday for months, protesters thronged the heart of Israel's commercial capital Tel Aviv to demonstrate against the government's judicial overhaul proposals.
The organizers of the protest movement said in a statement Saturday that the protests will be ramped up with rallies to be held at numerous locations across the country.
"The government is out to curb the freedom of expression as well as our right to protest; we are seeing police action being taken to that end against prominent activists who oppose the regime,” the statement posted to the movement's website read.
“Such steps are the telltale signs of dictatorial regimes, proving beyond doubt to anyone who is still in two minds that Israel is in the midst of an attempted regime coup of the worst kind,” the Hebrew-language statement further read.
“Now is the time to come out in force and resist in every legal and nonviolent way available,” the statement concluded.
Meanwhile, protesters outside Tel Aviv temporarily blocked the Ayalon highway, one of the country's main traffic arteries.