Israel protests: Anti-Netanyahu protesters block roads to airport in latest nationwide demonstration
Tel Aviv, Israel (CNN) Protesters blocked the road to one of the main terminals at Israel’s central international airport on Thursday, fueling a nationwide movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to weaken the country’s judicial system.
A CNN team at Ben Gurion Airport saw people walking with suitcases towards Terminal 3 because of the closed road, as scenes of a so-called “day of disruption” emerged.
Israeli television also showed a separate protest in the city of Tel Aviv that appeared to number in the thousands, with protesters waving Israeli flags.
Opponents of the government’s plans to give Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, the power to overrule Supreme Court decisions by a simple majority, have protested across Israel every Saturday night for the past nine weeks. The largest protests in Tel Aviv have regularly drawn more than 100,000 protesters in a country of just over nine million people.
The legislative package would also give the government the power to appoint judges, which currently rests with a committee made up of judges, legal experts and politicians. It would deprive the legal advisers of the ministries of power and independence and remove the power of the courts to invalidate government appointments.
The protest at Ben Gurion Airport took place hours before Netanyahu flew to Rome to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
It also took place on the day US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel for meetings with Netanyahu and Secretary of Defense Yoav Gallant. Austin was originally scheduled to arrive in Israel on Wednesday but delayed his arrival by a day at the request of Israeli officials concerned about the protests, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The location of his meeting was also changed because of the protests, Pentagon press secretary Brig. said. Gen. Pat Ryde.
Supporters of the judiciary overhaul plan say the changes are necessary to rein in a Supreme Court that has become too powerful and democratically unaccountable.
CNN’s Amir Tal contributed to the coverage.