Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu hits out at opposition after major protests

Prime Minister tells Israelis that 'freedom to protest is not a licence to drive the country to anarchy'

Police hold back Israeli protesters blocking the road in Tel Aviv's city centre. EPA

Thousands of Israelis protested across the country on Wednesday over proposed government legislation that would radically change the country's judicial system.

Thousands of Israelis blocked roads and train stations, stormed a police barrier surrounding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem and even demonstrated outside a salon in which his wife was having her hair done.

Police used stun grenades and water cannon against demonstrators, the first time such severe measures have been seen in the two-month protest movement against the judicial reforms. Authorities made at least 50 arrests.

On Wednesday, a bill that restricts the High Court of Justice’s power to strike down unconstitutional legislation was approved in the parliament's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

The country's politicians have been centre stage in this week's ideological battle, which both sides say they view as crucial to maintaining democracy.

On the far right, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose party supports the judicial reforms, called on leading opposition politicians to "stop encouraging anarchy".

"Whoever raises his hand and throws stones at police officers ... is not demonstrating for freedom of speech, but is a criminal anarchist who should be behind bars," he said on Wednesday.

The same day, six politicians from the ruling coalition and the opposition called for dialogue, publishing a joint statement that said: "We have no doubt that despite the difficult disagreements, we must act in every way to reach broad agreements."

The letter mirrors similar pleas made by Israeli President Isaac Herzog in recent weeks. On Wednesday evening, he said he would not allow the division to make Israel "reach the point of no return".

On Wednesday evening, Mr Netanyahu addressed the nation by saying “freedom to protest is not a licence to drive the country to anarchy”.

Most controversially, he appeared to compare recent settler violence in the occupied West Bank with the scenes unfolding in Israel streets.

“We won’t accept violence in Hawara and we won’t accept violence in Tel Aviv,” the Prime Minister said. He also suggested, without evidence, that "foreign elements" were supporting some of the protesters.

On Sunday, one Palestinian was killed and scores injured when hundreds of Israeli settlers ran through the streets of Hawara setting fire to homes and cars after a fatal attack on two Israelis.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid criticised Mr Netanyahu's comments, saying that the comparison was a "horrific statement, [by a] weak, dangerous man". Addressing a crowd of protesters in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, he urged people to "keep fighting until we win".

The Prime Minister's office posted a statement to clarify the comments on Thursday.

"Contrary to what is being heard in the media, the only comparison that Prime Minister Netanyahu made between Hawara and Tel Aviv is that it is forbidden to take the law into one's own hands anywhere," it said.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also drew condemnation on Wednesday for saying Hawara should be "erased", adding that "I think that the state of Israel needs to do it, but, God forbid, not individual people”.

After making the comments, Mr Smotrich issued a statement saying the media had misinterpreted him: “I spoke about how Hawara is a hostile village that has become a terrorist outpost.”

US calls comments repugnant

In response, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said: "I want to be very clear about this. These comments were irresponsible. They were repugnant. They were disgusting. And just as we condemn Palestinian incitement to violence, we condemn these provocative remarks that also amounts to incitement to violence."

The latest spat between the US and ministers in the Netanyahu government signals a growing divide between Israel and its most important ally.

The far right is proving particularly inflammatory. After the attack on Hawara, National Security Committee head Zvika Fogel said Israel needed to "take the gloves off".

"I want to restore security for the residents of the state of Israel," he said. "How do we do that? We stop using the word ‘proportionality’. We stop with our objection to collective punishment."

The Prime Minister's party, Likud, has also sparked controversy in its response to the violence in the West Bank. Israeli Minister of Public Diplomacy Galit Distel Atbaryan said attacks on Israelis were "a fundamentalist religious war of brainwashed murderers who are programmed to seek Jewish blood since age zero".

There are also mounting fears over the economic effect of the judicial reforms.

The economy contracted by 6 per cent last month and hit a three-year low, with many experts citing the legal plans as a leading factor.

On Thursday, hundreds of Israeli economists who issued an initial warning in January doubled down on their concerns by publishing a second joint letter saying an economic downturn sparked by the judicial reforms could happen more “powerfully and faster” than they had forecast.