Israel’s parliament has passed a new law that would prevent a prime minister from being declared unfit to hold office by the attorney general.
It is considered to be in the interests of the incumbent, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges.
The law is part of his right-wing government’s contentious plan to limit the powers of the judiciary, which has led to months of protests.
Hours after the vote opponents began what they called a “day of paralysis”.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in central Tel Aviv and blocked several major roads. A large Israeli flag and a banner with the declaration of independence were also draped over a wall in the Old City of Jerusalem.
A rally is planned in the evening in the ultra-Orthodox Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak, where there is widespread support for the government.
Ahead of the event, protesters set up chairs and tables, surrounded by Israeli flags, and invited members of the community to meet them for reconciliation talks about the planned law changes. There were heated conversations.
Photos emerged on social media of one of the protest leaders, a doctor, lying bloodied on the ground after being hit by a car. But the organisers later said that it had been an accident, not a deliberate act.
The new Incapacitation Law, which passed by 61 votes to 47 in the 120-seat Knesset following a heated all-night debate, makes it far harder to remove a sitting prime minister against their will.
It stipulates that only the prime minister or three-quarters of their cabinet can declare them unfit to hold office on physical or psychological grounds.
The governing coalition introduced the legislation last month after Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said Mr Netanyahu could not be involved in its judicial overhaul due to the potential conflict of interest arising from his ongoing court cases.
He is standing trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three cases. He denies any wrongdoing and says he is the victim of a “witch hunt”. (BBC)