Thousands of Israelis protested on Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government, regarded as the most right-wing in Israeli history, an AFP correspondent said.<\/P>
<\/P>
Protesters brandished signs with slogans including “Democracy in danger” and “Together against fascism and apartheid” in the coastal city of Tel Aviv.<\/P>
<\/P>
Some waved Israeli and rainbow flags while others held a large banner reading “crime minister” — a slogan widely used by Israelis during regular demonstrations against Netanyahu in past years.<\/P>
<\/P>
Following his November 1 election win, Netanyahu took office late last month at the head of a coalition with extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, some of whose officials now head key ministries.<\/P>
<\/P>
It includes a politician who late last year admitted tax evasion and a clutch of far-right personalities, including one who once kept a portrait in his home of a man who massacred scores of Palestinian worshippers.<\/P>
<\/P>
Netanyahu, 73, who himself is fighting corruption charges in court, had already served as premier longer than anyone in Israeli history, leading the country from 1996-1999 and 2009-2021.<\/P>
<\/P>
“My grandparents came to Israel to build here something amazing… We don’t want to feel that our democracy is disappearing, that the Supreme Court will be destroyed,” said a lawyer among the protesters who gave his name only as Assaf.<\/P>
<\/P>
“Extremists are starting to deploy their forces and it’s not the majority,” said protester Omer, a worker in Tel Aviv’s tech sector.<\/P>
<\/P>
The new government has announced intentions to pursue a policy of settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and carry out social reforms that have worried members and supporters of the LGBTQ community.<\/P>
<\/P>
Israel’s new justice minister this week announced a reform programme including a “derogation clause” allowing parliament to override decisions of the Supreme Court.<\/P>
<\/P>
Opposition leader Yair Lapid denounced the reforms, saying on Twitter that it “endangers the entire legal system of the State of Israel”<\/P>
<\/P>
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon<\/P>
<\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thousands of Israelis protested on Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government, regarded as the most right-wing in Israeli history, an AFP correspondent said.Protesters brandished signs with slogans including “Democracy in dange…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1781,2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n