Israelis rally in three cities against Netanyahu legal reforms - Reuters

TEL AVIV, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated successful 3 large cities connected Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial betterment plans, with organisers accusing him of undermining antiauthoritarian regularisation weeks aft his reelection.

Bestriding a religious-nationalist conjugation with a coagulated parliamentary majority, Netanyahu, present successful his sixth term, wants to rein successful the Supreme Court successful what helium has described arsenic a restoration of the equilibrium of the 3 branches of government.

Critics accidental the projected reforms would cripple judicial independence, foster corruption, acceptable backmost number rights and deprive Israel's courts strategy of credibility that helps fend disconnected war-crimes allegations abroad. Among those opposed are the Supreme Court main justness and the country's attorney-general.

After President Isaac Herzog appealed to polarised politicians to "lower the temperatures" of the debates, organisers of the demonstrations - held nether chilly wintertime rainfall - sought to onslaught a enactment of nationalist unity.

"Take an Israeli emblem successful 1 hand, an umbrella successful the other, and travel retired to support ideology and instrumentality successful the State of Israel," said centrist ex-defence curate Benny Gantz, who attended the Tel Aviv rally but, similar different absorption figures, was not owed to code it.

"We Are Preserving Our Shared Home," work 1 demonstrator's placard. Netanyahu was blameworthy of a "legal putsch", said another.

Israeli media enactment the fig successful attendance astatine immoderate 80,000, with thousands much astatine protests successful Jerusalem and Haifa.

Social media footage showed a tiny fig of Palestinian flags connected display, successful defiance of Netanyahu's far-right allies. One of these, National Security Ministry Itamar Ben-Gvir, told Kan TV helium wanted specified flags removed but was awaiting the sentiment of the attorney-general earlier ordering immoderate crackdown by police.

The 73-year-old Netanyahu connected Friday signalled flexibility connected the betterment plan, saying it would beryllium implemented "with cautious information portion proceeding each of the positions".

Polls person diverged connected nationalist views of the reforms. Channel 13 TV past week recovered 53% of Israelis were opposed to changing the tribunal appointments' operation portion 35% were successful support. But Channel 14 TV connected Thursday recovered 61% successful favour and 35% opposed.

Critics of the Supreme Court accidental it is overreaching and unrepresentative of the electorate. Its proponents telephone the tribunal a means of bringing equilibrium to a fractious society.

"Tens of thousands of radical were astatine tonight's demonstrations. In the predetermination held present 2 and a fractional months ago, millions turned out," tweeted Miki Zohar a elder lawmaker successful Netanyahu's blimpish Likud party.

"We promised the radical change, we promised governance, we promised reforms - and we volition marque bully connected that."

Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Christina Fincher and Mark Potter

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