Israeli doctors stage walkout after law is passed weakening top court

Riot police try to clear demonstrators with a water cannon during a protest in Tel Aviv (Oded Balilty/AP)

Thousands of Israeli doctors walked out of work, union leaders threatened a general strike and senior judges rushed home from a trip abroad after the government approved a law weakening the country’s supreme court.

Four leading Israeli newspapers covered their front pages in black ink — an ominous image paid for by an alliance of hi-tech companies.