Israel passes law protecting Netanyahu as protests continue

TEL AVIV, Mar 23: Israel's parliament on Thursday passed the first of several laws that make up its contentious judicial overhaul as protesters opposing the changes staged another day of demonstrations aimed at raising alarm over what they see as the country's descent toward autocracy.

Thousands of people protested throughout the country, blocking traffic on main highways and scuffling with police in unrest that shows no sign of abating, especially as the overhaul moves ahead.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition approved legislation that would protect the Israeli leader from being deemed unfit to rule because of his corruption trial and claims of a conflict of interest surrounding his involvement in the legal changes.

Critics say the law is tailor-made for Netanyahu, encourages corruption and deepens a gaping chasm between Israelis over the judicial overhaul.

The legal changes have split the nation between those who see the new policies as stripping Israel of its democratic ideals and those who think the country has been overrun by a liberal judiciary. The government's plan has plunged the nearly 75-year-old nation into one of its worst domestic crises.

"Either Israel will be a Jewish, democratic and progressive state or religious, totalitarian, failing, isolated and closed off. That's where they are leading us," Tzipi Livni, a former foreign minister and a prominent supporter of the protest movement, told Israeli Army Radio.

The opposition is rooted in broad swaths of society - including business leaders and top legal officials. Even the country's military, seen as a beacon of stability by Israel's Jewish majority, is enmeshed in the political conflict, as some reservists are refusing to show up for duty over the changes. Israel's international allies have also expressed concern.