Knesset members on Monday approved a key portion of his divisive plan to curb the powers of the country’s justice system.

His victory was in spite of six months of massive nationwide protests that exposed unprecedented fissures in Israeli society.

The vote came after a stormy session in which Opposition MPs chanted “shame” and then stormed out of the chamber.

Mass demonstrations erupted outside the Knesset building and in Tel Aviv after the vote.

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

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