Thousands of Israelis demonstrated against the government of right-wing conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to media reports, demonstrators in Tel Aviv were demanding an early election and the release of the hostages held by the Islamist Hamas. There were also protests in other cities, including Jerusalem and Haifa. According to police reports, riots broke out in Tel Aviv and, according to media reports, 16 people were arrested. In Jerusalem, hundreds of participants in a protest reportedly broke through a barrier near Netanyahu’s official residence.
“Take her home!”
A former hostage said to Netanyahu at the demonstration in Tel Aviv: “Bring her home!” The head of government must give the Israeli negotiating team a “broad mandate” in talks on an agreement to release the hostages in return for a ceasefire in the Gaza war and a release of Palestinian prisoners, demanded the woman, whose husband is still held in the Gaza Strip. “Don’t come home without a deal, bring our loved ones back.”
A former military intelligence chief, Amos Malka, called on Netanyahu to resign, according to the ynet news site. “The government is sacrificing the hostages, isolating Israel and strengthening Hamas,” he said at a demonstration in Caesarea, where Netanyahu has a private villa.
From Sunday, government opponents are planning large-scale rallies in Jerusalem that will last for several days. There, too, there should be calls for the government to resign.