ISRAEL’S government pressed ahead on Monday with a controversial plan to overhaul the country’s legal system, despite mass protests and calls for a rethink from military, business leaders and the United States.

Thousands of demonstrators were expected to gather outside the Knesset for a second straight week to rally against the plan as lawmakers were set to hold an initial vote.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition of ultra-religious and ultra-nationalist lawmakers, say the plan is meant to fix a system that has given the courts and government legal advisers too much say in how legislation is crafted and decisions are made. 

Critics say it will upend the country’s system of checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of the prime minister. 

They also say that Mr Netanyahu, who is on trial for a series of corruption charges, has a conflict of interest.

Israel has been plunged into one of its greatest domestic crises. Only the continued illegal occupation of Palestinian land and the extension of Israeli settlements appears to provide common ground across the political spectrum.

Monday’s vote on part of the legislation is just the first of three readings required for parliamentary approval. While that process is expected to take months, the vote is a sign of the coalition’s determination to forge ahead.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has urged the government to freeze the legislation and seek a compromise with the opposition. 

Business leaders have warned that weakening the judiciary could drive away investors.

Last week, around 100,000 people demonstrated against the plan outside the Knesset. It was the largest protest in the city in years.

The plan has even sparked rare warnings from the US, Israel’s chief international ally.

After US ambassador Tom Nides told a podcast over the weekend that Israel should “pump the brakes” on the legislation and seek a consensus, Mr Netanyahu’s allies piled in to tell him to stay out of Israel’s internal affairs.

The changes would give coalition lawmakers control over the appointments of judges, which critics fear would lead to appointments based on their loyalty to the government or prime minister.

The proposals would also give the Knesset the power to overturn Supreme Court rulings. 

Israel’s attorney general has barred Mr Netanyahu from any involvement in the overhaul, saying his legal troubles create a conflict of interest. 

Mr Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing and claims to be the victim of a witch-hunt.