About 550 people demonstrated Thursday morning against the judicial reform outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence on Gaza Street in Jerusalem. The police announced to the demonstrators to evacuate the place and began dispersing them by force while using cavalry. The police said that they detained two demonstrators who violated the order and did not obey the policemen's instructions. A mixture of both Israeli and American flags was seen at the protest, with even a number of Druze flags spotted as well.
The protestors demonstrated just a few yards from the door of the Prime Minister’s private apartment building and tried to block the road. The police set up barriers to prevent direct access to the building and called for the assistance of additional vehicles. Netanyahu and his family have been staying at his personal apartment in Jerusalem as the Prime Minister's official residence has been under renovation for several months. According to the protesters who spoke with reporters on the scene, "We came to tell the dictator to stop the judicial revolution, the United States is boycotting you, you are endangering Israel's security."
We won’t let Netanyahu slice and dice his way to transforming Israel into a dictatorship.
— Olim for Democracy עולים למען הדמוקרטיה (@olim4democracy) May 25, 2023
Kol HaKavod to Achim LaNeshek on their protest this morning outside Netanyahu’s residence.
🗓️ Saturday night: see you at Kaplan and 150 other locations across the country! https://t.co/ep42AQ1YmC
Yesterday, after the approval of the state budget, Netanyahu said that the judicial reform is expected to return to the agenda. In a conversation with an Israeli reporter from Channel 14, immediately after the Knesset approved the second and third readings of the state budget for the years 2023 and 2024, Netanyahu was asked if the plan that the government under his leadership tried to advance "will return". The Prime Minister replied: "Certainly." Immediately afterward he emphasized: "But we are trying to reach a broad understanding, and I hope we will succeed in this."
A few hours later, Netanyahu said that "We will continue our efforts to reach as broad an agreement as possible on the issue of judicial reform." He added that he believes that "with goodwill and a true will; it is possible to reach a conclusion that will serve all the citizens of Israel."
Reservists protest at Netanyahu's home: 'US boycotts Bibi while Iran builds a bomb': The demonstrators claimed that the prime minister is isolating Israel from the rest of the world, particularly the United States. JPost https://t.co/idTsoRA1E1 pic.twitter.com/tCCXMeDBqK
— Jewish Community (@JComm_NewsFeeds) May 25, 2023
The chairman of the National Unity party, MK Benny Gantz, who has so far been considered the most moderate figure in the opposition when it comes to efforts to reach a compromise around the judicial revolution, responded sharply to Netanyahu's statement regarding the expected return of the judicial reform to the agenda. "I understand that Netanyahu is drunk on power again, after passing a budget that will explode in all of our faces. I remind Netanyahu that it is stupid to repeat the same action and expect different results. If the coup d'état comes back to the table; we will shake the country and stop it," Gantz tweeted.
