On Tuesday, thousands of anti-government demonstrators gathered at Israel’s airport and held large rallies across the country. The demonstrations were a response to the government passing judicial reform legislation the day before.

The protests were non-violent, as they were in previous anti overhaul demonstrations. 77 people were detained throughout the day. The majority of those arrested were detained for obstruction of roads and other public order violations, but police allege that some suspects assaulted the officers.

At the end of the night, the police increased their dispersal methods, using a water cannon both in Tel Aviv and other cities. Several incidents of officers slapping demonstrators on camera were also captured.

Demonstrators at Ben Gurion Airport beat a drum, chanted slogans, and displayed Israeli flags and posters that read, “Save Our Startup Nation,” “Opposing dictature,” and “Democracy Will Win,” as the police struggled with the large crowd.

As police tried to stop the protesters from interfering in airport operations, some scuffles occurred between officers and demonstrators.

The protestors crowded the trains heading for the airport as the event began. They chanted: “Democracy!”

The police tried to limit the crowd in certain areas so that they could not take control of the airport access roads as they had done at a similar protest last week.

Kobi Shabtai, the Israel Police Commissioner, was on the scene to supervise the preparations of the police. He said that the protesters had to stay within a certain area to “protest”.

The police allowed some protesters block a road in order to relieve crowding and prevented some people from leaving a train station.

Some demonstrators broke the cordons to block the internal access roads of the airport.

In some places, Border Police confined the protesters behind barriers. This sparked fears that overcrowding might lead to a dangerous crushing. 45 people died in 2021 in a stampede that occurred at a religious meeting in northern Israel.

Shabtai called the concerns about overcrowding a “misrepresentation”, in an interview given to Kan, a public broadcaster. Later in the day, crowds began to thin out. No crush injuries were reported.

The police pushed some demonstrators into the protest zone, including grabbing one man by the neck.

Some travelers were surprised by the demonstration and had to deal with it.

Passengers who had arrived at the airport up to 12 hours prior to their check-in were lined up in the departures area.

A visitor from Honduras said, “We really don’t know what is going on.”

The police said no flights had been disrupted, and that more than 70,000 passengers transited the airport that day.

In an effort to circumvent police restrictions, activists abroad provided Israelis flying to Israel with Israeli flags as well as other items associated with the protest movement. They could then wear them immediately upon landing. The activists met travelers before several flights from Europe and the US.

Police reported that by the evening they had arrested 77 people in the entire country. At least 45 had been released. Seven people were arrested at the airport on suspicion of incidents of public disorder.

Captain-rank army officer was among those arrested near Ben Gurion Airport. The officer, who was not in uniform, was released by the army later that evening.

IDF soldiers up to the level of lieutenant-colonel (above captain) are allowed to participate in political demonstrations as long as they do not wear their uniforms or are identifiable.

A video shared by protest organizers shows Israeli rock star Aviv Geffen detained by the police at a Tel Aviv rally. Geffen was led away in a calm manner by three plainclothes police officers. A crowd of protesters yelled “shame” as they followed. Geffen is one of Israel’s most famous rock stars.

Geffen told Channel 12 he was beaten up by the police.

“I didn’t have anything to do.” Geffen stated, “The cop pushed me hard.”

Geffen, according to police, was part of a group who had gotten into a scuffle with the police. He pushed an officier and was then brought to the side to calm down.

Shabtai, in a statement televised on Tuesday night, denied that police had used excessive violence.

He said, “We have succeeded in protecting the right to demonstrate and finding the best balance between freedom of protest and freedom of travel.”

Itamar Gvir, Minister of National Security, also supported police conduct. Ben Gvir told Channel 12 News that he did not see any violence by police. He said they used reasonable force to stop lawbreakers, including those who had attacked police officers, broken the law and blocked ambulances and emergency vehicles from reaching hospitals.

The main weekly protests against the overhaul of the judiciary are held in Tel Aviv’s central Kaplan Street.

Elana Resnick who moved from Los Angeles to Israel believes that the protests send a message to people who have the power to make a change.

“This is the only hope for democracy in Middle East and it’s falling apart.” She said, “I think it’s very important that we share our opinions and do our best to protect what our beliefs are.”

Police repelled some of the protesters who attempted to blockade the central Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv.

Other demonstrations in cities across the country continued well into the night, including about 2,000 people in Beersheba in the south.

By midnight, the majority of protesters had dispersed and there were no major incidents.

A hit-and run occurred during the Beersheba demonstration, resulting in a minor injury to a police officer. Police say that the officer had signaled to the driver to stop the car at a temporary roadblock, but he continued driving, striking the officer. The officer was then taken to hospital for minor injuries. The suspect, a 24-year-old man, was arrested shortly after and was scheduled to appear before a court on Wednesday for his remand to be extended.

After the Knesset passed the controversial bill that would curtail Supreme Court oversight powers, protesters declared a “national day of disruption”.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition of ultranationalists and ultra-Orthodox parties, including his Likud party, has proposed several bills. Opponents of the overhaul plan have been protesting for more than six months, claiming that it is a pus