Protests continue as Israeli parliament votes on reform bill

Tel Aviv [Israel], July 24: Israel's right-wing government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing ahead with the highly controversial reform bill aimed at restructuring the judiciary despite fierce criticism at home and abroad.
Netanyahu's government is presenting a core part of its plans to parliament in Jerusalem on Sunday.
Hundreds of people gathered in Jerusalem on Sunday morning as parliament began to consider the bill. Several rallies by opponents were planned for Sunday, as well as demonstrations by supporters of the far-right religious government.
A final vote on the bill is not expected until Monday afternoon at the earliest. Media reports say mediation efforts are continuing behind the scenes.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, is expected to be released from the hospital in time to attend the vote after undergoing surgery to implant a cardiac pacemaker.
Netanyahu's doctors said on Sunday that the 73-year-old is "feeling very well" following the surgery. However, a cabinet meeting scheduled for Sunday was postponed "indefinitely," his office said.
For more than half a year, the controversial proposal has divided large parts of Israeli society, with thousands of people regularly taking to the streets against it. Parts of the military have also sharply criticized the proposed reforms.
The bill is part of a larger judiciary reform package that seeks to diminish the power of Israel's judiciary, which far-right supporters of Netayahu's government have accused of interfering in political decisions.
Critics fear the reforms will undermine Israel's democracy. Protest signs in Tel Aviv read, for example, "Netanyahu the enemy of democracy" or "Save our homeland." Protests against Netanyahu's government on Saturday night drew about 170,000 people gathered in the centre of the coastal city of Tel Aviv, and another 85,000 in Jerusalem, according to estimates by Channel 13.
According to media reports, there were occasional violent clashes with the police. Several demonstrators were arrested.
Organisers of the protests put the number of participants across the country at more than half a million, which would make it one of the biggest mass protests since the demonstrations began in early January.
Source: Qatar Tribune