Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Israeli cities for the ninth straight week on Saturday to oppose the government's plan to overhaul the country's court system.
Demonstrations were largely peaceful but in Tel Aviv police released footage showing protesters breaking barriers and starting fires as they blocked roads. Police sprayed water cannon at the protesters.
Earlier in the week, protests in the city descended into violent clashes with police.
“I came to demonstrate against the regime revolution, which the Israeli government forced upon us,” history teacher Ronen Cohen said.
“I hope that this huge demonstration will effect and prove that we are not going to give up.”
The protesters oppose legislation that would limit the Supreme Court's powers to rule against the legislature and the executive, while giving parliament decisive powers in appointing judges.
Proponents say the Supreme Court needs to be reined in from overreaching into the political sphere.
Critics say the plan will weaken the courts, endanger civil liberties and harm the economy along with ties with western allies.
Tel Aviv drew the largest turnout of this week’s protests, with smaller demonstrations in several locations across the country.
Protesters waved Israeli flags and pictures depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as dictators such as Caesar. Other protesters waved Palestinian flags or chanted “freedom”.
Last week, senior government figures ratcheted up the rhetoric against opponents of the legislation, seeking to portray increasing disorder among demonstrators as destabilising and unpatriotic.
Limor Livnat, a former education minister for Mr Netanyahu, jokingly greeted the rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday with "hello to all the anarchists, hello to all the terrorists, hello to all the patriots".
But National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who visited a police command centre to "exercise my policy", said: "I have no intention of apologising to anyone, certainly not to the anarchists who want to set the state of Tel Aviv on fire.”
The marches have attracted huge crowds on a weekly basis since early January, when the government first took aim at the Supreme Court.
“There's a great danger that Israel will turn into a dictatorship,” protester Ophir Kubitsky said. “We came here to demonstrate over and over again until we win.”
Israeli police had fired stun grenades and scuffles broke out in Tel Aviv on Wednesday during a nationwide “day of disruption”, raising the intensity of the protests.
The latest demonstrations come as Mr Netanyahu faces major opposition the policies of new government, the most right-wing in the country's history.
On Saturday claims emerged that the administration of US President Joe Biden considered denying entry to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for a planned visit later this month, although sources have told Israeli media that such a move is unlikely.
The move follows the minister's comment that the Palestinian town of Hawara in the occupied the West Bank should be "wiped out" by the military. Two Israelis were shot dead there this week, triggering a rampage by Israeli settlers in which homes and property were set on fire and one Palestinian was killed.
On Saturday, Mr Smotrich said his comment was a "slip of the tongue in a storm of emotions".
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
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Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.
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She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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