Palestinian-Israeli lawmaker uses 'Arab Spring' slogan as Israelis hold anti-government rallies

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - Ahmad Tibi, a Palestinian-Israeli member of the Israeli Knesset, or parliament, used the famous Arab Spring slogan Monday amid mass anti-government rallies across Israel.

"The people demand the fall of the regime," Tibi wrote on Twitter in Hebrew in reaction to the rallies taking place to protest the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul plan.

The slogan was widely used in several Arab countries as of 2010 in mass rallies that toppled the governments of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen.

Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets across Israel late Sunday in protest against the judicial overhaul plan and the decision by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fire his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who called for suspending the plan.

Israel has seen mass protests over the past 12 weeks against plans by the government for judicial reform, which are seen by the opposition as an attempt to reduce the powers of the judicial authority in favor of the executive authority.

However, Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, insists that his judicial plan would enhance democracy and restore the balance between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government.