TENS of thousands of Israelis gathered on Saturday for the continued weekly protests against their extremist government’s plans to overhaul the legal system.

This week’s rallies come days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition of ultra-Orthodox and ultranationalist parties passed a new two-year budget.

Besides the bid to capture the judiciary, the budget has also created controversy by including more money for ultra-Orthodox schools, which are widely criticised for not teaching students skills in areas deemed necessary in the modern workplace such as maths and English.

The funds also include tens of millions of dollars of discretionary funds for hardline pro-settler parties to promote pet projects through the ministries they control.

Mr Netanyahu’s return to power in December has been mired by widespread protests across Israel and international pressure.

In March the protests forced the him to delay the changes that many believe are aimed at halting his own legal troubles: Mr Netanyahu faces a number of charges of corruption, all of which he denies.

The main protest this weekend took place in Tel Aviv, drawing thousands of flag-waving protesters.

“If Israel takes too much power for its own, it will basically become like Poland or Hungary, and we don't want that,” said Aylon Argaman, a protester.

Organisers of grassroots protests bill them as a movement to save democracy. They say the government’s plans to weaken the Supreme Court would destroy the country’s system of checks and balances and compromise Israeli democracy.

Proponents of the judicial overhaul say it is needed to rein in an overzealous Supreme Court.

“The government may think we’re starting to get tired after 21 weeks, but even if we are tired, democracy is still more important to us,” said Omer Kidron, another protester.