ISRAELI police fired stun grenades and water cannon at demonstrators on Wednesday, as they blocked a Tel Aviv highway and scuffled with police near the Israeli prime minister’s home during anti-government protests.

Thousands across the country staged a “national disruption day,” the latest in a string of mass protests against Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul Israel’s judiciary and weaken the country’s supreme court.

The plan has drawn heavy criticism from wide swathes of Israeli society and pleas from international allies for Mr Netanyahu to think again. 

In a further late-night incident, dozens of police were called in to rescue prime minister Mr Netanyahu’s wife, Sarah, from a hair salon in Tel Aviv besieged by protesters.

Israeli media said police were called to rescue her as protesters chanted, “The country is burning and Sarah is getting a haircut!”

Mr Netanyahu and his ultra-right wing coalition partners say the plans to overhaul the legal system are needed to rein in the powers of unelected judges. 

But critics say Mr Netanyahu, a defendant standing trial on corruption charges, holds a personal grudge against the justice system and is pushing the country towards autocracy.