KUALA LUMPUR – Massive demonstrations in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem over the weekend signalled mounting rejection by Israel’s citizens of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his regime’s prolonged war on Gaza and failure to secure the return of hostages.
Various world media reported the street protest as numbering in the tens of thousands and as the largest against Netanyahu’s leadership since the war on Gaza began following Hamas’ cross-border attacks on Israel on October 7 last year.
Demonstrators are angry at the government for not securing the release of all hostages taken captive during the October 7 attack, with 130 remaining believed to be either dead or still being held by Hamas and its affiliated groups. During a temporary truce earlier, 105 hostages had been released.
AFP reports that the protests in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv brought the two cities to a “standstill” on Saturday and Sunday.
Participants included the families of hostages who gathered outside Parliament to state that Netanyahu had to be ousted if Israel was to be “saved”.
A protestor, Einat Avni Levi, said there was no point to Netanyahu’s war on Gaza as it “has no goal” other than to keep the prime minister in power.
The protestors included soldiers, one of whom said there was “no way” Israeli hostages would be returned as long as Netanyahu remained in power.
“He doesn’t give a damn about anyone else apart from himself,” AFP quoted the soldier, identified by only one name, Benkler, as saying.
Anti-government protestors and the hostages’ families are seen as having found common ground in their opposition against Netanyahu as the war on Gaza drags on into its sixth month.
However, though they are united against Netanyahu, their reasons differ.
Some object to military service exemptions given to ultra-Orthodox Jews on religious grounds, others disbelieve Netanyahu’s claim that Hamas will be wiped out and only a political solution is feasible for peace.
To date, more than 32,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Hamas-run health authorities, while the casualties on Israel’s side are around 1,400 after nearly six months of war. – April 2, 2024