'Netanyahu is leading us to war': Thousands join Israeli judicial protests

Tens of thousands of Israelis have joined protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to tighten controls on the Supreme Court, despite heightened tensions sparked by Israeli raids into Al Aqsa Mosque.

The protests on Saturday is the latest in a series of demonstrations against the plans — paused last month in the face of a wave of strikes and mass demonstrations — and come as Israel faces a sharp rise in tensions on several fronts during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Around Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, tens of thousands of worshippers were expected for evening prayers amid concerns over a possible repeat of nighttime police raids this week that were followed by rocket barrages into Israel and Israeli strikes into Gaza and southern Lebanon.

The main protest in Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial hub, was held less than two kilometres from Friday's incident, in which an Italian tourist was killed and five other Italian and British citizens were wounded when a car rammed into a group of tourists.

Organisers said around 258,000 people attended, but police gave no figures of their own.

Netanyahu has mobilised border police reservists and ordered the army to reinforce security positions to head off possible trouble, amid calls for calm from Arab nations, the United Nations, the European Union and the United States.

READ MORE: Tens of thousands of Israelis protest against Netanyahu govt for 13th week

'Save democracy'

Leaders of the grassroots protest movement against the judicial overhaul called for the weekly mass protest to continue as planned on Saturday, with tens of thousands of people attending for a 14th consecutive week.

In central Tel Aviv, crowds waving the blue and white Israeli flags that have become a hallmark of the protests over the past three months gathered in a show of defiance against plans they see as an existential threat to Israeli democracy.

"Security is one thing but reform is another," said 26-year-old student Amitay Ginsberg. "We're still going to come here and say loud and clear that we will not let this reform pass."

Protesters brandished signs reading "Save democracy!", "Freedom for all!" and "Netanyahu is leading us to war".

Other, smaller, demonstrations took place in the central city of Kfar Saba, at Haifa in the north and in occupied Jerusalem.

The proposals, which would give the government effective control over the appointment of Supreme Court judges and allow parliament to overrule many decisions of the court, have caused one of the biggest domestic crises in Israel's recent history.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, including army reservists, business leaders, members of Israel's tech industry and leading academics have taken part, facing off against supporters of Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition.

The government side, which accuses activist judges of increasingly usurping the role of parliament, says the overhaul is needed to restore a proper balance between the judiciary and elected politicians.

Critics say it will remove some of the vital checks and balances underpinning a democratic state and hand unchecked power to the government.

Before the protests, police had urged people to leave roads clear to allow emergency services to move freely following Friday's car-ramming on a popular shoreline promenade in Tel Aviv.

READ MORE: Israel mobilises army reserves after attacks in Tel Aviv, West Bank