Benjamin Netanyahu is more disputed than ever. Since Sunday, March 31, the Government of the Israeli Prime Minister faces the largest mobilization against it since October 7 and the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
On the third night of a demonstration planned for four days, thousands of people gathered again this Tuesday afternoon in Jerusalem to shout their anger against the coalition of right-wing, far-right and religious far-right parties in power.
Protesters camped outside the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, to pressure the government.
Angry hostage families
Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponents, already mobilized before the war against the justice reform project, were joined by numerous relatives of hostages held or missing in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas attack on October 7.
The latter believe that the Prime Minister has not made the necessary efforts to recover the approximately 134 hostages or missing persons who remain missing and demand a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave to obtain their release.
“You are a traitor, a traitor to your people, to your voters, to the State of Israel,” Einav Zangauker, whose son is being held hostage in Gaza, shouted into the microphone, AFP reports.
“You are responsible for October 7 in every way possible, you are an obstacle to a hostage agreement, you leave us no choice, you must give in. And we will continue to pursue you and you will have no day or night.” , while my son Matan has neither day nor night,” this mother continued before Parliament.
The protesters were able to count on the presence of former Labor Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Calling for new elections, he denounced the government’s military strategy in the Gaza Strip.
“The entry into Rafah (of the army, promised by the government) will occur in a few weeks, but the elimination of Hamas in a few months, and by then all the hostages will return in coffins,” he said. He warned, estimating that “even if the release of the hostages implies a ceasefire, Hamas can be crushed.”
Tensions around the ultra-Orthodox
Clashes between protesters and police occurred on Tuesday night as crowds headed toward Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in the affluent Réhavia neighborhood, The Times of Israel reports. A video posted on
“I demand that the Shin Bet (Israeli internal intelligence service, editor’s note) wake up immediately and take the security of the Prime Minister seriously,” far-right Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir reacted in X, believing who had already warned the service about these risks without having been heard.
Many people present in front of Parliament were also furious that ultra-Orthodox Israelis, who make up 16% of the Jewish population, were mostly exempt from military service.
In Israel, military service is mandatory, but ultra-Orthodox people can avoid mandatory military service by spending their time studying Judaism’s sacred texts. This long-standing exemption ended on Monday following a decision by the Supreme Court, but its application is still suspended pending the procedure.
The protesters denounce the complacency of Benjamin Netanyahu, who had the support of ultra-Orthodox parties to remain in power during the 2022 elections.
Source: BFM TV
