Angry at 'legal reforms,' protesters block road leading to Netanyahu's office
Protesters form a human chain, blocking the road leading to Benjamin Netanyahu's office in protest at controversial "legal reforms" that have been planned by the Israeli prime minister's extremist cabinet.
The protest, which was held on Tuesday, saw the attendants creating the roadblock using their bodies as well as pipes and chains.
They managed to obstruct the road for some time until the police intervened with pipe and chain cutters, separating the human chain, and arresting the protesters.
On Monday, Knesset (the Israeli regime's parliament) approved the first reading of three bills that are part of the so-called reforms.
The reforms serve as the centerpiece of the policies of the Netanyahu-led cabinet, which he cobbled together late last year by wooing ultra-Orthodox and hard-right parties.
The reforms seek to enfeeble the regime's Supreme Court by robbing it of the power to strike down either the cabinet or the legislature's decisions.
Another element of the reforms would give the 120-member parliament the power to overrule the court's decisions with a simple majority of 61 votes.
The reforms would also empower the Knesset to amend the so-called Basic Laws -- the regime's quasi-constitution -- in any way it sees fit.
Observers say the reforms can potentially enable the Knesset to annul a set of corruption charges that Netanyahu is being tried on. The prime minister is being sued for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
"Of course, we are against the present government, and we don't agree to be under dictatorship," said Oded Elish, organizer of the Tuesday protest.
Since late December, when Netanyahu returned to power as premier at the head of the cabinet, tens of thousands have been holding regular rallies across various cities throughout the occupied territories every Saturday to protest the pending reforms.
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