Netanyahu supporters block highway to support judicial plan

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Right-wing Israelis rally in support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seen in poster, and his government’s plans to overhaul the judicial system, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, March 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

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Right-wing Israelis block a main road as they rally in support of plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judicial system, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, March 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

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A man wears a sticker that reads: “the people have chosen reform,"as right-wing Israelis rally in support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government plans to overhaul the judicial system, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, March 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

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Right-wing Israelis march on a main road as they rally in support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government plans to overhaul the judicial system, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, March 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

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An installation representing a crashed Israeli Air Force fighter jet placed previously by anti-government activists lies run rail after an attack by right-wing Israelis a rally in support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government plans to overhaul the judicial system, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, March 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

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Right-wing Israelis light flares as they block a main road during a rally in support of plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judicial system, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, March 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

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National flags flutter as right-wing Israelis rally in support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government plans to overhaul the judicial system, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, March 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

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Right-wing Israelis rally in support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government plans to overhaul the judicial system, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, March 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Thousands of right-wing Israelis on Thursday blocked a main highway in Tel Aviv as they demonstrated in favor of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system.

The crowd was much smaller than the hundreds of thousands of people who have taken to the streets in recent months to demonstrate against the plan.

But the gathering had the same effect. Protesters honked their car horns and hoisted blue and white Israeli flags — crippling traffic along the Ayalon highway, the main north-south thoroughfare running through the coastal city.

After especially intense protests, Netanyahu this week froze the plan and began negotiations with his political opponents aimed at finding a compromise plan. But his opponents have vowed to continue their protests as well.

The plan would give Netanyahu’s parliamentary coalition control over judicial appointments and the power to overturn Supreme Court decisions it opposes.

Netanyahu and his allies say the plan is needed to rein a system unelected activist judges who wield too much power over political matters.

Opponents say the changes would destroy a system of checks and balances by concentrating too much power in the hands of Netanyahu and his allies in parliament. They also say Netanyahu has a conflict of interest while he is on trial for criminal charges and has no business meddling in the country’s legal system.