massive protest with Hundreds of thousands of Israelis has launched across the country against the Israeli government's controversial judicial reform, Israeli media report.

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Edited by| ANNA SAM
WORLD SECTION - CJ JOURNALIST
Feb 25, 2023 - tel Aviv

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The protesters gathered across Israeli cities on Saturday evening, calling for stopping the aggressive decisions taken by Netenyaho's gov.
The massive demonstration according to the Israeli media and newspapers are about 100 thousand gathered across the Israeli cities on Saturday.
At least seven protesters were reportedly arrested on the Ayalon Highway on Saturday.
On Tuesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Tuerk expressed concern that the judicial reform pushed by the Israeli government may negatively impact the rights of vulnerable groups in the country and urged the suspension of the initiative.

On Monday, the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, approved the first part of the judicial reform in the first reading. The reform will limit the authority of the Supreme Court by giving the cabinet control over the selection of new judges, as well as allowing the Knesset to override the court's rulings with an absolute majority.

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The voting in the Knesset took place amid mass protests across the country that have been held for eight consecutive weeks. The reform's opponents argue it will undermine democracy in Israel and put the country on the verge of a social and constitutional crisis.
The current Israeli judicial system has been in place since the establishment of the state in 1948. In accordance with this system, the Supreme Court provides constitutional oversight, since Israel does not have a constitution or a constitutional court. Government decisions are largely controlled by the Supreme Court, which can overrule them if necessary.