On Friday, protestors against the government’s judicial overhaul plans declared a ‘week of paralysis’ nationwide that will begin from Sunday.
This was after the announcement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that they intended to pass the core judicial overhaul legislation in the coming week.
The protests
Since early January, protests have escalated nationwide against the proposals that the government had put forward for overhauling the judiciary.
Other than public demonstrations, there is also a rising number of military reservists who have threatened to stop, or have already stopped their service due to the legislation.
This has resulted in concerns in the security establishment about the future of the country.
Even before announcing the ‘week of paralysis’, the protest organizers had said that the largest demonstration as yet would happen on Saturday evening.
The protests on Saturday are usually the biggest of the week, as hundreds of thousands of people in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other areas across the country.
Other than that, protest organizers have also shared plans of targeted demonstrations on Sunday and Monday against MKs and ministers.
Likewise, mass rallies have also been planned for Wednesday and Thursday in ‘days of paralysis’, which includes a huge protest in Jerusalem outside the Knesset.
The events
The organizers said that Thursday would also see additional protest events, which they were keeping under wraps for now.
A statement from the protest leaders said that they were entering one of the most fateful week in the country’s history.
They called the government destructive and said that it was tearing Israel apart and damaging the economy and the military.
They said that millions of people would come out on the streets for defending Israel and preventing it from turning into a dictatorship.
The leaders added that those who want to live in a democracy should come out and oppose the government.
The ministers
Dozens of protestors had turned up on Friday outside the homes of a number of ministers.
There was a scuffle between the Rehovot neighborhood’s residents and the protestors, while they were rallying out the home of Idit Silman, the Environmental Protection Minister.
Footage from the scene showed one of the neighbors using pepper spray on the demonstrators. Three people were detained by the police after the incident for questioning.
Protestors also rallied outside the home of Amichai Chikli, the Diaspora Affairs Minister, in Kibbutz Hanaton, Avi Dichter, the Agriculture Minister, in Ashkelon, Amir Ohana, the Knesset Speaker, in Givatayim, Nir Barkat, the Economy Minister, in Jerusalem, and Moshe Saada, the Likud MK, in Mazkeret Batya.
On Saturday afternoon, a large protest is scheduled outside the home of Yoav Gallant, the Defense Minister, which would be held by veteran naval commandos hailing from the Shayatet 13 unit.
The protests have also been taking place abroad, with rallies held in London against Netanyahu on Friday, where he is on an official visit.
Dozens of people gathered outside his hotel as well as 10 Downing Street where the premier had come to meet Rishi Sunak, the UK Prime Minister.