AP PHOTOS: Unrest grips Israel as the parliament adopts a law weakening the Supreme Court

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli government’s adoption of the first part of a controversial judicial overhaul on Monday unleashed turbulence in the streets of Israel and in the halls of the Knesset.

The approval of the major change in the law by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government capped a seven-month campaign to weaken the judiciary that has sparked the biggest protests in Israeli history and sown bitter divisions in Israeli society.

On the day of the vote, Israeli protesters camped outside the parliament building, with some even sleeping in tents after marching from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in the scorching heat. Demonstrators — young, old, secular, religious — formed human chains to block roads leading to the Knesset. Hundreds of thousands of protesters poured into the streets of Tel Aviv overnight, shouting for democracy and waving blue-and-white national flags.

A demonstrator waves a colored Israeli flag during a protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system, outside the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, Monday, July 24, 2023. The demonstration came hours before parliament was set to vote on a key part of the plan. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) — A demonstrator waves a colored Israeli flag during a protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judicial system, outside the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem, Monday, July 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Demonstrators block the traffic on a highway crossing the city during a protest against plans by Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system, in Tel Aviv, Monday, July 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Demonstrators wave large Israeli flag during a protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system, outside the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, Monday, July 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israelis protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system, outside the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, Monday, July 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israeli police disperse demonstrators blocking the road leading to the Knesset, Israel's parliament, during a protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system, in Jerusalem, Monday, July 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Police officers responded with force, making dozens of arrests, spraying water hoses at protesters and pushing them back.

For protesters, the series of laws that curb the Supreme Court’s power marked a frightening step toward autocracy, eroding the only check on majority rule in Israel. For supporters of Netanyahu’s government, the changes restore power to elected officials and reduce the authority of unelected judges.