Israeli police crack down, clash with anti-Netanyahu protest

By TIA GOLDENBERG and ILAN BEN ZION
Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israelis protesting a contentious government plan to overhaul the judicial system have blocked roads and are clashing with police in central Tel Aviv. The demonstrators are calling Wednesday a “national disruption day” as the government barrels ahead with legislation that would weaken the Supreme Court. The rival sides are digging in, deepening one of Israel’s worst domestic crises. A central protest got underway later on Wednesday in Jerusalem, outside the Knesset, from where the crowd was expected to head to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence. The legal overhaul has sparked an unprecedented uproar, with weeks of mass protests, criticism from legal experts, business leaders and the security establishment — as well as concern from international allies.