Israelis demonstrated on Wednesday in Tel Aviv and other areas to protest the government's plan to make changes to the judiciary, while the Tel Aviv police chief announced his resignation from his post in protest of the government's request to use violence against demonstrators.
Hundreds of protesters marched in Tel Aviv carrying Israeli flags and chanting "democracy", some blocking a major highway and setting fires, and clashes with the police cavalry.
According to protest organizers, the government's decision to make changes to the judicial system will deprive Israelis of freedom of opinion and expression and limit democratic life. The government says it aims to "reform the judiciary".
Tel Aviv police chief Ami Ished said he would resign because of political interference by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government who he said wanted to use excessive force against anti-government protesters.
In a televised statement, Ished said he could not do what he called the "ministerial category" expected of him, which he said violated all rules and blatantly interfered in the professional decision-making process.
"I could have easily met these expectations with the unreasonable force that would have filled the emergency room of Ichilov (Tel Aviv Hospital) at the end of every protest," he said, stressing that "for the first time in three decades of service, I faced an absurd reality in which I was not required to maintain calm and order, quite the opposite."
Haaretz also reported that the Tel Aviv district police chief announced his resignation for political reasons, and quoted him as saying he was paying an unbearably high personal price for choosing to avoid civil war.
Ishid did not mention Defence Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has called for tough action against protesters who blocked roads in unprecedented protests against the government's controversial efforts to overhaul the judicial system.
The defense minister said in televised remarks that the Tel Aviv police chief had crossed a dangerous line.
Ben Gvir, a far-right extremist who had previously been convicted of supporting terrorism and racist incitement, had sought more power over the police force when he was chosen to be the minister overseeing it, raising concerns about police independence.
On March 27, Netanyahu announced the suspension of "judicial reform" bills to allow for understandings with the opposition, and talks between the opposition and the government coalition under the auspices of President Isaac Herzog have since been held without any result.
The opposition says the projects aim to weaken the judiciary, especially the Supreme Court, and turn Israel into a dictatorship. For 26 weeks, it has been organizing unprecedented weekly protests across Israel demanding a halt to these projects.