Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu presses on with legal changes despite protests

Israelis protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government to overhaul the judicial system, outside the Knesset, Israel’s parliament in Jerusalem, Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. Israel’s government is pressing ahead with its contentious plan to overhaul the country’s legal system. A vote in parliament on Monday is due despite an unprecedented uproar that has included mass demonstrations, warnings from military and business leaders and calls for restraint from the U.S. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israel’s government is pressing ahead with a plan to overhaul the country’s legal system, despite an unprecedented uproar that has included mass protests, warnings from military and business leaders and calls for restraint from the US.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the Knesset parliament for a second straight week to rally against the plan as legislators prepared to hold an initial vote.