Protests against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spread on Saturday to numerous areas in northern Israel, including Nahariya, Rosh Pina, Karmiel, Hadera and Haifa.
The demonstrators’ main objection was the government’s controversial judicial reform, which seeks to limit the powers of the Supreme Court and increase political influence over the appointment of judges.
Call for a state inquiry
The Netanyahu government introduced the judicial reform in early 2023. The reform proposed reducing the powers of the Supreme Court and increasing political influence over judicial appointments.
Opposition parties and part of the Israeli public are calling for a state commission of inquiry to investigate the failures that occurred before the October 2023 attacks by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas. The Netanyahu government rejects these demands.
Cases against Netanyahu and the toll in Gaza
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2024. The decision was made over allegations that war crimes and crimes against humanity had been committed in the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported that at least 73,651 Palestinians had been killed and 174,575 wounded in the war in Gaza since October 2023.