Israeli police clashed with protesters on Tuesday amid huge demonstrations against the government's controversial judicial reform plans. Officers used water cannon to clear a major highway, and 71 people were arrested across the country. The reforms, which involve removing the power of the Supreme Court to review ministers' decisions, have divided the country, sparking months of mass demonstrations. Protest leaders had called for a Day of Resistance on Tuesday in the event that the bill passed its first of three readings required before it can become law.

Unprecedented protest in Israel tonight! Pro-democracy protesters have filled up the streets of Tel Aviv to protest against the far-right government. pic.twitter.com/pDSMctYWT1

— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) July 11, 2023

The demonstrations began early onTuesday morning, as protesters blocked roads across the country, causing rush hour snarl-ups. In Tel Aviv, video showed a police horse knocking a protester to the ground, while further north in Herzliya, protesters burnt tyres in the middle of a junction before being removed by police.

Thousands of demonstrators also converged on Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport, packing into a designated protest area at Terminal 3 and outside the president's residence in Jerusalem, the Israeli defence ministry in Tel Aviv, and the US embassy's branch office in the city. Significantly, hundreds of reservists - the backbone of Israel's military - have threatened to stop turning up for duty in protest at the reforms, and on Tuesday reservists from Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency and the Mossad intelligence service said they would follow suit. The military's chief of staff has said reservists do not have the right to refuse to show up, and the military has said it will act against anyone who follows through on their threats.