Egyptian police have fired tear gas at opposition protesters demonstrating against Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's drive to hold a snap referendum on a controversial draft charter, as the country plunges deeper into crisis.

Live television footage showed that some protesters broke through police lines and got too close to the presidential palace.

Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh, reporting from Cairo said: "They broke through the barbed wire [and] the police reacted and fired tear gas straight away. This has been an issue for the protesters as they are not allowed near the palace.

She added that there had not yet been any physical confrontations between police and protesters.

Thousands had taken to the streets waving Egyptian flags, chanting for the downfall of the president and denouncing the Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi emerged, for having "sold the revolution" that toppled Hosni Mubarak last year.

The strikes were part of a planned campaign of civil disobedience that could bring in other industries.

'Stand up to tyranny'

Also on Tuesday, at least eight influential daily newspapers, a mix of opposition party mouthpieces and independent publications, suspended publication for a day to protest against what many journalists see as the restrictions on freedom of expression in the draft constitution.

The move, according to independent daily Al-Tahrir, was aimed at "standing up to tyranny".

The country's privately owned TV networks are planned their own protest on Wednesday, when they will blacken their screens all day.

A November 22 decree issued by Morsi expanding his powers and enabling him to put to a mid-December referendum a draft constitution rejected by liberals has sparked strikes and deadly protests.

The charter has become the focal point of a political and ideological battle in Egypt between the Muslim Brotherhood and their Islamic allies and the largely secular-leaning opposition.

"The country is deeply divided over Morsi's legitimacy, the opposition are saying they are not against his election which was legitimate, but his actions and decrees are not legitimate," said our reporter.

Morsi's decision has not only placed his decisions beyond judicial oversight but also barred any judicial body from dissolving the panel that drafted and approved the new constitution, sparking a conflict with the country's judges.

As he faces his worst crisis since taking office in June, Morsi insists the measures are aimed at ending a tumultuous transition following the popular uprising that toppled Mubarak in early 2011.

But his opponents have accused him of choosing the same path of autocracy that finally cost Mubarak his presidency.

The decision to go to a referendum on December 15 caused further upheaval, including within the judiciary itself.

On Monday, the Supreme Judicial Council said it would ensure judicial supervision of the referendum, despite calls for a boycott by some of their colleagues, including the influential Judges Club, an association that represents judges nationwide.

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