Protest leaders in Israel launched a "day of resistance to the dictatorship" against the judicial overhaul plan by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, announcing that Thursday would be an "extraordinary day."
The protesters decided to disrupt the trip of Netanyahu slated on Wednesday to Berlin, as they did on the eve of his visit to Rome.
The number of demonstrators in the weekly protests exceeded 300,000 on Saturday, and its leadership was led by five former top leaders of the Israeli police.
Recent reports stated that the government decided to continue legislating most of the laws included in its plan, and that Netanyahu wanted to stop and halt the process, but his allies did not approve.
In response, the protest leadership decided not to enter negotiations unless the legislation was halted and the laws approved so far were canceled.
However, sources close to Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he had recently received several signs of a possible understanding.
The demonstrators protesting the government's plan had set a new record by demonstrating for the tenth week in about 130 locations.
Protest organizers said about half a million people participated in the protests nationwide, but the media put it at a quarter of a million people.
The opposition has surged from across society. For the first time, business leaders and legal officials have spoken out against what they say is a “ruinous” effect of Netanyahu’s plan.
On Saturday, five of the top inspectors of the police joined the protests and marched at the forefront of the major demonstration in Tel Aviv. They received a warm reception from the demonstrators.
The current police inspector, Yaakov Shabtai, held a press conference declaring that he made a mistake when he dismissed the Tel Aviv police chief at the request of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
"I made a mistake. I made an error of judgment; I was wrong in the timing and in the manner in which it was done. I do not take that lightly," Shabtai said, adding that he accepted the decision of the attorney general to freeze the appointment.
Shabtai also indicated he had considered resigning amid the uproar caused by the move but had decided not to walk away from the task and promised to protect the demonstrators and their right to protest.
Meanwhile, Attorney Eliad Shraga, chairman of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, one of the critical organizations protesting against the coalition's judicial overhaul program, announced that the protesters would not negotiate with the government and issued a list of firm conditions for entering into talks.
Shraga set ten strict conditions, including adopting a constitution based on "the spirit" of the Declaration of Independence and passing a bill of rights to ensure equality "in rights and obligations" as preconditions for a compromise solution.
