Netanyahu flies to Italy from airport under siege by protesters

PM Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife flew to Rome on Thursday for a three-day visit and talks with Italian leaders. A police helicopter flew him to Ben Gurion over the heads of the massed protesters who were determined to block the airport. Referring to nine weeks of huge protests against the government’s judicial overhaul legislation, Netanyahu said: “We will continue to try and reach understandings on the issue, although so far, we have been met with total and flat rejection from the opposition, which prefers to plunge the country in anarchy.”  The prime minister insisted that judicial reform was not the real issue: “The real purpose [behind the demonstrations] is to unseat the democratically elected government after just a few months in office and nullify the will of the majority.”