Violent protests rock Israel

Violent protests rocked various parts of the occupied territories when the Israeli Knesset approved a key part of the judicial reform plan wanted by the extremely unpopular cabinet of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Parliament passed the plan's first bill in a tumultuous session that saw opposition lawmakers walk out in protest and shout "shame!" The bill prevents the regime's Supreme Court from overturning Israeli cabinet decisions if it deems them "unreasonable".

It is part of a larger scheme Netanyahu announced in January as an alleged means to curb what he called decades of undue political interference by judges. Opponents of the regime, however, argue that it will remove necessary checks on the power wielded by politicians. They also accuse Netanyahu, who is on trial on several corruption charges, of trying to use the plan to overturn possible sentences against him. Israelis have held weekly demonstrations of thousands across the occupied territories since Netanyahu announced his intention to get the so-called overhaul plan passed in the Knesset.