Huge demonstrations in Israel demanding the dismissal of Netanyahu

Israel – Hundreds of people gathered on a main traffic street in Caesarea near the private residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, carrying signs and chanting slogans calling for him to resign.

The protest that took place on Saturday night is one of several marches in recent weeks, and one of the demonstrators, a local resident of Caesarea named Hanna Zeisel, told The Times of Israel: “They (the protests) are aimed at increasing pressure on him until he goes to new elections.”

Amos Malka, the former head of the Military Intelligence Directorate of the Israeli army, accused Netanyahu of abandoning prisoners held by the faction movement in Gaza.

Malka said: “If the families knew how small the gap that Netanyahu refuses to fill in the negotiations with the factional movement, they would have exploded.” This is further evidence of his unfitness to serve.”

Speaking to The Times of Israel, Malka, the leader of the protest movement against Netanyahu’s government, explained that “the failures that preceded October 7 are shared by many, across the defense community and the government establishment. But what has happened since then – that is on Netanyahu’s responsibility.”

A number of demonstrators also gathered in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense “Kiria” in Tel Aviv to protest against the Netanyahu government for various reasons. The dominant message of the main protest on Kaplan Street outside the Sarona shopping center was to hold early elections and dismiss the current government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Nearby, a group of Israeli army veterans from the 1973 war stood on a model of a tank, calling for an end to conscription exemptions for students from extremist religious schools.

At the entrance to Kirya on Begin Street, a demonstration was organized by the Brotherhood, Sisters and Arms, a reserve group that was among the leaders of anti-judicial reform protests last year, demanding the release of prisoners held by Hamas.

According to Israeli media, there is a large police presence throughout the area, as the police have barricaded large parts of Begin and Kaplan streets, in addition to some exits leading to the Ayalon Highway, to prevent demonstrators from closing this road, as they do every week.

Source: The Times of Israel