Israeli Police Use Water Cannons to Disperse Protesters Blocking Tel Aviv's Main Highway

TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Hundreds of protesters against the controversial judicial reform in Israel have blocked the main highway in Tel Aviv and are burning fires on the road, a Sputnik correspondent reported late Thursday.

The protest action comes as part of the mass protests which had been going on in Israel for 28 consecutive weeks and included the blocking of roads, clashes with the police, arrests and riots.

Hundreds of other protesters are standing on bridges over the highway. Mounted police are trying to prevent them from entering the Ayalon Highway.

The Israeli police are using water cannons to disperse protesters on the highway. There were clashes between mounted police and protesters when law enforcement attempted to disperse the crowd.

Israeli police again used water cannons in Tel Aviv to disperse protesters. pic.twitter.com/cp8YVlph2J

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Earlier, the Israeli parliament approved for second and third readings one of the key clauses of the reform, which limits the power of the Supreme Court to overturn government decisions by declaring them unreasonable. If the bill becomes law, the government will have more power to advertise its decisions and elect officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US media on Thursday that the government would drop the most controversial part of the judicial reform. At the same time, the Israeli prime minister said the government and the opposition had been unable to agree on basic provisions of the reform for months, which would possibly prompt the government to advance the legislation unilaterally.

The draft law is intended to shake up the Israeli judiciary. If passed, it could curtail the Supreme Court's power to review and strike down laws that it deems unconstitutional and give the government a greater say in the selection of judges.