Anti-government protesters in Israel denounce Netanyahu’s judicial reform plan

Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday for the fourth weekly protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and its plan to give lawmakers greater control over the judicial system.

“I’m afraid they will destroy our individual rights and we won’t have anyone to turn to for help,” said one protester. “We must continue to protest.”

The protest took place amid an increase in violence between Israel and Palestinians.

Earlier on Saturday, a 13-year-old Palestinian opened fire, wounding at least two people in East Jerusalem.

The shooting occurred less than a day after another attacker killed seven people outside a synagogue there in the city’s deadliest attack since 2008.

The wave of violence marks the latest major escalation in one of the bloodiest months in Israel and the occupied West Bank in years.

Earlier this week, the Israeli army killed nine Palestinians in a raid on the West Bank.

The events, just a day before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in the region, represent a crucial test for Israel’s new far-right government.