The reform package has split the nation and triggered one of the biggest protest movements in Israel's history since being unveiled in January by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition, which includes extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties. Demonstrators have kept up pressure on the Netanyahu government with weekly protests across...

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to bring his controversial proposal to curb the power of judges to a vote in the Knesset as soon as Monday. The proposal triggered dueling protests over the weekend between supporters of the proposal and those who fear it will undermine Israel's democracy.

Parliament's law committee approved the proposal, which would limit the "reasonability" clause that allows the judiciary to strike down government decisions, in a marathon debate that ended late on Wednesday. After the panel's endorsement, "with nine Knesset members supporting and seven opposing" according to a statement from parliament, the bill...

Demonstrators holding Israeli flags and chanting "democracy, democracy" also entered the stock exchange building in Tel Aviv and staged a rally there, an AFP correspondent said. Josh Drill, a spokesman for the protest movement, said pressure on the government would continue through "non-violent acts of civil disobedience".

Following stiff opposition and growing international criticism -- including from US President Joe Biden -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a "pause" in March to allow for talks on the proposals. And while the weekly demonstrations did not seem to hamper the coalition's legislation, they did afford support to members...

Protestors have kept up the pressure with weekly rallies against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who returned to power in December at the head of a coalition with ultra-Orthodox Jewish and extreme-right allies. Police used water canon to break up demonstrators, blocking a highway in the city.

The demonstrators have kept up the pressure with weekly rallies against Netanyahu, who returned to power last December at the head of a coalition with ultra-Orthodox Jewish and extreme-right parties. Although there were no figures immediately available for the number of people who demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Saturday, the...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government's proposals would curtail the authority of the Supreme Court and give politicians greater powers over the selection of judges. Opponents regard them as a threat to Israeli democracy and US President Joe Biden is one of several Israeli allies to have voiced concern.

Protesters gathered in other major cities, Haifa and Beersheba, as well as at dozens of junctions and locales throughout the country, to decry what they perceive as a threat to Israel's democracy. The government's reform proposals would curtail the authority of the Supreme Court and give politicians greater powers over...

Saturday's demonstration comes ahead of another mass protest planned for the coastal city on Sunday to coincide with a Netanyahu speech to the general assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America. The government's reform proposals would curtail the authority of the Supreme Court and give politicians greater powers over...

The 15th consecutive week of protest came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 27 announced a "pause" to allow for dialogue on the reforms which were moving through parliament and split the nation. "Let's save democracy" read signs in a sea of Israeli flags waved by demonstrators. AFP journalists...

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and "reaffirmed the importance of the enduring US– Israel bilateral relationship. The top US diplomat "emphasized the importance of refraining from unilateral actions that exacerbate tensions," a statement said.

Asked if Israel's democracy is at an inflection point -- a phrase Biden frequently uses to describe the danger facing democracies worldwide -- the US president said: "I don't know that they're at an inflection point but I think that's a difficult spot to be in and they've got to...

The latest demonstration to hit Israel's commercial hub came days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to press on with the changes despite mounting international alarm. But his defence minister said Saturday that "we must stop the legislative process" for a month in view of the divisiveness of the reforms.

Netanyahu, in a televised address, said he was determined to advance the reforms but wanted to reach a solution acceptable to both supporters and critics of the proposal. Lawmakers earlier on Thursday approved legislation restricting grounds for declaring a premier unfit for office, a move opposition chief Yair Lapid called...

The reforms would tighten political control over judicial appointments and limit the Supreme Court's ability to overrule government rulings or Knesset-approved laws.