Tens of thousands of Israelis march as vote on judicial curbs nears

Benjamin Netanyahu's attempt to free parliament from supreme court legal oversight has led to widespread protests

Tens of thousands of Israelis opposed to a judicial overhaul sought by the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, marched to Jerusalem on Saturday as pressure mounts on his rightwing government to scrap a bill that would curtail the supreme court's powers.

Carrying Israeli flags, a long column of protesters hiked up the winding highway to Jerusalem under a scorching summer sun, to the sounds of beating drums and anti-government chants and cheers.