Tens of thousands of protesters staged rallies across Israel on Tuesday, in the largest weekday protest in months against the hard-right government's plan to overhaul the judiciary.
Despite the summer heat, scores of Israelis took to streets, highways and junctions in major cities to hold protests in what they called a day of "disruption."
They were protesting against a key bill in Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the legal system. The bill, which passed the first out of three rounds of voting in the parliament overnight Monday, aims to prevent the Supreme Court from overturning government decisions on the grounds of "reasonability."
The protests began in the morning, with rallies held in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Herzliya, Beersheba, Eilat, and other cities.
Protesters temporarily blocked the Azrieli Junction, a major crossroads in Tel Aviv, as well as the adjacent Ayalon Highways, Israel's main freeway, and Route 1, which connects Tel Aviv and other parts of Israel.
The police used water cannons on the protesters in several locations. Two photographers were briefly arrested.
In the afternoon, about 20,000 demonstrators, as estimated by the organizers, gathered at the main entrance of Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's main international airport, waving the blue-and-white flags of Israel. The police deployed around 1,000 officers, who in some cases clashed with the demonstrators.
The protests continued into the night, with tens of thousands rallying in Tel Aviv and on major roads across the country.
According to Channel 13 TV reports, at least 19 demonstrators were injured and required hospital care. By the evening, the police said in a statement that at least 76 protesters had been arrested.
