The Israeli Parliament passed a law on Monday that limits the Supreme Court’s ability to overturn decisions made by government ministers, completing the first stage of a wider and deeply contentious effort to curb the influence of the judiciary.

The decision capped one of the most turbulent moments in Israel’s contemporary history, as protesters blocked roads outside Parliament on Monday, attempting to disrupt a measure they called an affront to democracy, and mediators raced in vain to secure a last-minute compromise.

The furor surrounding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s broader judicial overhaul has become a stand-in for deeper rifts in Israel between those who want a more secular and pluralist state and those with a more religious and nationalist vision.

Opposition leaders immediately said they would ask the Supreme Court to rule on the legality of the new law, which limits judicial review over government decisions. Leaders of one of the main protest groups pledged to continue demonstrating, saying that Israel “is going through the darkest period since its establishment.”