Israel: Major justice reform demos as Pentagon head visits

Thousands of people took to the streets on Thursday to protest the Israeli government's plans to overhaul the judiciary.

They mark the latest in a series of demonstrations that have gripped the country the last two months over reforms that critics say will unacceptably water down the Supreme Court's powers of legislative oversight.

Protesters blocked roads to Israel's main international airport, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to hold talks with visiting US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin near the site of the airport.

Protesters blocked main intersections in Tel Aviv and other cities, while some others barricaded the Jerusalem offices of a conservative think tank helping steer the judicial changes.

Netanyahu takes helicopter to airport to meet Austin

Netanyahu flew to the airport in a helicopter to meet Austin, who cut short his trip for security reasons because of the protests, near the site. 

Austin spoke with Netanyahu for an hour at the Ben Gurion airport, instead of meeting the Israeli prime minister and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in the Defense Ministry in central Tel Aviv as originally planned.

Comments from Austin afterwards focused more on violence and unrest in the Palestinian Territories and questions pertaining to the Israeli peace process than to the justice reform protests. 

"The United States [remains] firmly opposed to any acts that could trigger more insecurity, including settlement expansion and inflammatory rhetoric," Austin told reporters after the talks, saying the discussions were frank and candid. 

"We are especially disturbed by violence by settlers against Palestinians," he said. 

Protesters say changes weaken judiciary, government says this is necessary

The proposed changes to the law are still being debated in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, but as it stands they would likely grant politicians more influence appointing judges and allow parliament to override Supreme Court decisions to overturn a law with a simple majority vote, among other changes. 

Critics say the separation of powers and the role of the judiciary is at threat. Proponents like the government argue that the Supreme Court has too much influence and should be reined in. 

Shikma Bressler, a scientist and protest movement organizer, told DW that: "The new government [is] trying to impose laws such that the government will be supreme to basically everything, including justice, so we are here to make sure such a legislation will never pass."

Meanwhile, Simcha Rothman, a member of Knesset and far-right Religious Zionism party, and one of the main architects of the judicial change, told DW that voters had given the government a mandate to go ahead with the controversial overhaul.

"On November 1, a lot of people went out of their homes and voted. And they voted on exactly this issue," he said, referring to the date of Israel's most recent elections last November, the fifth national vote since April 2019.

He said there was only a small "minority" of people who say the reform is not good for them. 

Beyond the protests, which have drawn tens of thousands of Israelis to the streets, civic opposition has also emerged in legal circles, among business leaders, and even from within Israel's influential military. 

Suspected evening terrorist attack in Tel Aviv

In Tel Aviv, police said on Thursday evening that three people were shot and wounded in a possible "terrorist attack." 

The shooting took place at a popular nightlife spot in the city center. 

Police said the suspect "shot at a pedestrian before being neutralized by officers," while Israel's Magen David Adom emergency response service said three people had been rushed to hospital, one of them with more serious injuries. 

Prime Minister Netanyahu, who had flown on to Italy after his talks with Austin on Thursday, wished a "speedy recovery to the injured" in a brief televised statement.

3 militants reported killed in Palestinian raid

Also on Thursday, Israeli police said three Palestinian militants were killed in a shootout with Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank. 

Israeli security forces said they raided the village of Jaba in the Israeli-occupied West Bank to arrest suspects wanted for attacks on Israeli soldiers in the area.

But the suspects fired on Israeli troops, who shot back, with three gunmen dying. Israel's military said militants successfully shot down an Israeli drone. 

The Palestinian Health Ministry, meanwhile, said that a fourth man was hospitalized with a bullet wound to the head following the raid.

Israeli police released images of various weaponry they said they had seized in Jaba, which is located just south of the flashpoint city of Jenin. 

rm/msh (AP, dpa, Reuters)