JERUSALEM: Tens of thousands of Israelis protested on Monday against the government`s judicial reform bill which they say threatens democracy, as lawmakers opened debate on key parts of the controversial overhaul.

Demonstrators from across Israel descended on Jerusalem to rally near parliament ahead of the first reading of legislation to change the way judges are picked.

`I`m really worried,` said paediatrician Adi Aran, protesting with a stethoscope around her neck, part of a crowd of protesters waving the blue and white national flags.

The proposed reform, which would give elected representatives more control of the judicial system, might stop Israel from being `a state my children can live in`, added Aran, from the Har Adar settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Several Israeli media outlets judged the crowd to be more than 40,000 people, but there was no official police estimate.

The sweeping judicial reform programme is a cornerstone of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu`s administration, an alliance with ultra-Orthodox and extremeright parties which took office in late December.

The premier presents the overhaul as 1(ey to restoring balance between the branches of government, as he believes judges have too much power over elected officials. Netanyahu on Monday accused protest leaders of `trampling on democracy` and failing to `accept the election result`.-AFP