What is happening in Israel? The controversial judicial overhaul plans explained

Israel's 120-seat parliament, known as the Knesset, votes Monday on whether to pass major and controversial changes to its judicial system.

The changes are being made to a power judges have known as "the reasonability clause" and will remove the ability of the Supreme Court to overrule government decisions that judges may deem unreasonable.

These plans have sparked unprecedented nationwide protests, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets since the proposals were first announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government in January.

Netanyahu's government argues that the changes were required to curb overreach by unelected judges, particularly those it accuses of having "liberal bias".

However, many in Israel - a country with no formal constitution - argue that the changes threaten democracy by removing important checks and balances on the executive power.

Some also accuse Netanyahu - who himself is fighting corruption charges in court - of trying to weaken the judiciary for his own personal reasons, a charge he denies.

Commanding a comfortable majority in parliament, Netanyahu's coalition looks set to win the vote on the bill.

Netanyahu's government seeking greater powers

The Netanyahu government says the "reasonability clause" grants judges "too much power".

A recent high-profile ruling by the Supreme Court, which barred Netanyahu ally Aryeh Deri from serving in the cabinet due to his previous tax evasion conviction, is often cited to illustrate the court's perceived overreach.

Israel's government also seeks greater powers in the process of appointing judges, including those for the Supreme Court.

It has demanded greater representation on the panel which appoints them - a body now overseen by the justice minister and including judges, lawmakers and lawyers representing the Israeli Bar Association.

Under the government's plan and other proposals, the Bar Association members would be removed from the process.

An amended version of Justice Minister Yariv Levin's proposal, endorsed by lawmakers in late March, would put more Knesset members and members of the judiciary on the panel, while still granting greater powers to the government.

That proposal awaits final votes by the full chamber.

A separate piece of legislation would change the way the Supreme Court's president is selected, also giving the government a greater say.

Law to 'protect Netanyahu'

The proposals also seek to curb the authority of legal advisers attached to government ministries.

Currently, their guidance has quasi-legal force, as Supreme Court judges cite it when ruling on the propriety of government actions. The proposal would change that and make their advice non-binding.

Lawmakers adopted legislation in March that many condemned as another move to diminish the authority of civil servants.

Parliament also voted to strictly limit the grounds for declaring a prime minister unfit for office, which the opposition called a "personal law" to protect Netanyahu.

Israel's Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said in March that Netanyahu's actions on the judicial reform may place him in a conflict of interest due to his ongoing trial.

'Override' clause

The Netanyahu government proposed a so-called "override clause" which would allow parliament to overrule Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority.

It passed a first vote in parliament on 14 March, but has not completed the process to become law.

Netanyahu last month told The Wall Street Journal that he had scrapped the override clause from the overhaul package.

Other proposed measures would bar the court from striking down any amendments to the Basic Laws, Israel's quasi-constitution, and require a unanimous decision by all judges to invalidate other pieces of legislation.

Many have warned these measures would give Israel's legislative branch - the Knesset - nearly unchecked authority.

Palestinians look on

Meanwhile, Palestinian citizens of Israel, who make up some 20 percent of Israel's population, have mostly chosen not to attend the protests against the judicial changes for several reasons, including controversy surrounding raising the Palestinian flag and their lack of trust in state institutions - including both the Israeli judiciary and the government.

Many Palestinians, while agreeing with the need to push back against Netanyahu's far-right government, refuse to whitewash Israel’s political system.

"Where there is true partnership, we offer our hand," Faiz Abu Sahiban told Israeli daily Haaretz on why Palestinian citizens of Israel refused to take part in protests.

"[The] protests are only about Jewish democracy not substantive democracy," Ahmad Tibi, a Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament, and the head of the Ta'al Party, said in comments to Al Jazeera.

"The demonstrators demand not to harm the courts, not to harm the legal advisers, not to harm the committee to appoint judges. But they don’t call for equality between Jews and Arabs. There is no such call by the protesters. Or to end the occupation or against the Jewish Nation State Law or against racism."