Netanyahu decries protesters after salon siege of his wife

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies on Thursday denounced protesters as anarchists after they massed outside a Tel Aviv salon where his wife was getting her hair done a chaotic end to a day of demonstrations against the governments plan to overhaul the judiciarySara Netanyahu has long been a polarising figure in Israel and the incident late Wednesday in a posh neighbourhood in Tel Aviv reflected Israels emotionally charged divide over the overhaul seen by opponents as an existential threat to the countryDemonstrators outside the salon chanted shame shame but did not try to force their way inside Hundreds of police were sent to the scene and eventually escorted her into a limousineMeanwhile Netanyahu and his political partners showed no signs of easing up on a push to pass a series of bills to overhaul Israels judiciary These moves have further inflamed an already deeply riven country and drawn the largest protests in over a decadeProtest organisers planned more demonstrations Thursday a day after their selfproclaimed day of disruption turned violent when police used a heavy hand against participants at a Tel Aviv rallyThursdays demonstrations in Jerusalem are expected to include speeches by former government ministers and senior security officials Former top economists including two former Bank of Israel heads and a Nobel Prize laureate were set to speak at a conference in Tel Aviv about the economic fallout from the overhaulJustice Minister Yariv Levin one of the architects of the judicial overhaul said Wednesday night that despite the mounting public outcry Netanyahus government will not stop the legislationThe proposed bills would give politicians and parliament control over judicial appointments the power to overrule the Supreme Court and the ability to pass laws impervious to judicial reviewCritics of the plan include a growing number of former military brass academics economists and business leaders They say the changes will erode the countrys delicate system of checks and balances and erode democratic institutions Netanyahu and his ultranationalist and ultraOrthodox allies say the changes are necessary to rein in the power of unelected judgesThe battle over the judiciary overhaul comes as Netanyahus trial for charges of accepting bribes fraud and breach of trust drags on The longtime leader has dismissed the charges against him as part of a witch hunt by a biased lawenforcement judiciary and pressOn Wednesday tens of thousands of Israelis took part in demonstrations across the country against what they saw as an attempt by Netanyahus new government to weaken the Supreme Court and concentrate power in the hands of the ruling coalitionAlso read Highlevel Israeli Palestinian officials to meet over surge in violenceProtesters blocked highways and major intersections in Tel Aviv and massed outside the prime ministers official residence in Jerusalem For the first time since protests began two months ago the scene on the streets turned violent after Public Security Minister Itamar BenGvir a hardline nationalist settler ordered police to take tougher action against demonstrators he claimed were anarchists At least 11 people were hospitalised and police arrested dozensWednesdays events reached a crescendo outside a ritzy north Tel Aviv salon where the prime ministers wife was getting her hair done Moshe Butbul a hair stylist from the salon told the Israeli news site Ynet that another client posted a selfie with Sara Netanyahu He claimed that within minutes thousands arrived though the actual number of protesters may have been smaller judging by videos posted onlineReporters at the scene said the crowd kept its distance and did not attempt to break into the salon BenGvir then dispatched large numbers of security forces to the salon saying on Twitter that he had ordered police to save her life from the demonstrators besieging the salonHundreds of police officers including mounted police broke a path through the demonstration to let an SUV approach Protected by a phalanx of police Sara Netanyahu was escorted out of the salon and into the vehicle which drove off under heavy police escortThe anarchy has to stop Netanyahu said in a Facebook post accompanied by a picture of him embracing his wife This can lead to the loss of life Netanyahus allies came to Sara Netanyahus defense Thursday morningGalit Distel Atbaryan Israels public diplomacy minister called the incident three hours of terror in which one woman was besieged by an incited mob Another Likud lawmaker wrote on Twitter that the prime ministers wife was rescued from a lynch by a mob of anarchistsYair Golan a former general and onetime Meretz party lawmaker told Kan radio that with all due respect Sara Netanyahu is a political figureReferring to what critics consider her outsized political influence in the prime ministers office Golan alleged that she is involved in decision making on a national level and approves senior appointments left and rightThe Netanyahus have been criticised for being out of touch with regular Israelis and living a lavish lifestyle at taxpayer expense Last week an Israeli parliamentary committee approved new funding for Netanyahu and his familyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever