Israeli doctors walk off the job and more strikes are threatened after law weakening courts passes

Thousands of Israeli doctors walked out of work, labour leaders threatened a general strike, a day after the government approved a law weakening the country’s Supreme Court

Thousands of Israeli doctors walked out of work, labour leaders threatened a general strike and senior justices rushed home from a trip abroad Tuesday, a day after the government approved a law weakening the country's Supreme Court that critics say will erode the system of checks and balances.

Four leading Israeli newspapers covered their front pages in black ink — an ominous image paid for by an alliance of high-tech companies. The only words on the pages were in a line at the bottom: “A black day for Israeli democracy.”

Monday's vote — on the first of a series of measures that make up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive judicial overhaul — reverberated across the country. It came despite seven months of fierce popular resistance, Mr. Netanyahu’s promises of an eventual compromise and a rare warning against the overhaul from Israel’s closest ally, the United States.

The bill was unanimously passed by the governing coalition, which includes ultra-nationalist and ultra-religious parties, after the opposition stormed out of the hall shouting “Shame!” But opponents say they are not done fighting: Civil rights groups submitted petitions to the Supreme Court, calling for the new law to be overturned, and protests roiled the country's streets anew.

“These protests are not going anywhere, especially because the government has clearly stated that this is just phase one,” said Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank. “This is the most widespread and significant democratic awakening in the history of the country. Clearly, it won't end.”

Hundreds of thousands of people fanned out in Tel Aviv overnight, burning tires, setting off fireworks and waving national flags. In Jerusalem, mounted police and water cannons spraying foul-smelling liquid cleared protesters from a main highway. At least 40 people were arrested by police in protests around the country.

Videos showed police officers dragging protesters by the hair and neck, beating people until they bled and violently pushing them back with batons. At least 10 officers were assaulted and injured, police said.