Israelis Protest at International Airport Against Judicial Overhaul Plan

On Monday, thousands of protestors attempted to block traffic to Ben-Gurion Airport in the latest attempt by opponents of the government’s judicial reform proposal to stop Israel.

The majority of foreign departures and arrivals take place in Terminal 3, where organizers requested that protesters arrive in convoys and congregate en masse.

Police had to employ riot dispersal techniques since demonstrators had blocked the main international entry and exit points for the nation.

Additionally, protestors were observed being ejected by authorities from the airport’s arrivals area.

At least four demonstrators were detained for obstructing the main entrance to the venue.

The protest movement’s driving force, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, demanded in a letter to Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai that the government exercise restraint on Monday.

Earlier that day, hundreds of anti-reform protesters obstructed highways leading to Haifa Port, blocking cars access to Israel’s main freight route.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, minister of national security, and Gali Baharav-Miara, attorney general, received a request last week from transport minister Miri Regev and tourism minister Haim Katz to stop delays at Ben-Gurion Airport.

“I will not accept this situation or the way they are disturbing and tormenting a whole nation. It’s time to get everything back in order and quit interfering with people’s lives, according to Regev. Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, announced last week that he is restarting the legislation for judicial reform but would remove its most contentious provision, the “override clause.”

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on June 29, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the override provision, which would have given the Israeli parliament the authority to overturn the Supreme Court when it declared measures to be “unconstitutional,” is “out.”

“Override” has been used pars pro toto to refer to the entire package of legislation, even though it is only one part of judicial reform.

This legislation includes altering the selection process for judges, limiting the authority of the attorney general and other legal advisers, and doing away with the Supreme Court’s use of the standard of “reasonableness” to overturn governmental decisions.