Israel's governing coalition presses ahead with plan to overhaul courts ahead of expected protests

Israel’s governing coalition pushed ahead on July 17 with its contentious plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary, despite growing opposition from within the country’s military and a wave of mass protests expected this week.

Israel's governing coalition pushed ahead on July 17 with its contentious plan to overhaul the country's judiciary, despite growing opposition from within the country's military and a wave of mass protests expected this week.

A parliamentary committee was preparing a Bill that would limit judicial oversight on some government decisions, legislation that has sparked intensifying criticism from military reservists in elite units, including the Air Force and cyberwarfare.

Many have warned they will not show up for duty if the overhaul moves ahead. Reservists, who make up the backbone of the country's mostly compulsory military, played a key role in prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pause the overhaul plan earlier this year.

In response to the legislation, which is expected to go before a final parliamentary vote early next week, a large protest movement is expected to stage a “day of disruption” on Tuesday. These days of mass protest in the past have snarled traffic, choked the terminal at Israel's main international airport and descended into clashes between police and demonstrators.

The judicial overhaul, advanced by Mr. Netanyahu’s nationalist and religious government, has deeply divided Israel, plunging it into one of its worst domestic crises and even sparking concern from its most important ally, the U.S.

Mr. Netanyahu paused the overhaul in March, facing a wave of mass protests, labor strikes that halted outgoing flights and many other sectors and pledges by military reservists to not show up for duty if the legislation advanced. Similar pressures are reemerging as the government resumes legislating the overhaul.

The government says the plan is meant to rein in what it sees as an overly interventionist judicial system and restore power to elected officials. Critics say the plan would upend Israel’s delicate system of checks and balances and push the country toward autocracy. They also say Netanyahu has a conflict of interest by trying to shake up the justice system when he is on trial for corruption charges.