"Increase the pressure"

Thousands of Israelis demonstrate against Netanyahu

In Tel Aviv, demonstrations were held against the government of right-wing conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.(Bild: APA/AFP/JACK GUEZ)

Thousands of Israelis demonstrated against the government of right-wing conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday evening. According to the media in Tel Aviv, they demanded an early election and the release of hostages held by the Islamist Hamas. There were riots and police operations. 

Protests also took place in other cities such as Jerusalem and Haifa. The families of the hostages called for mass demonstrations at their weekly rally.

Arrests after riots
According to police reports, there were riots in Tel Aviv, as a result of which 16 people were arrested, according to media reports. In Jerusalem, hundreds of participants in a protest reportedly broke through a barrier near Netanyahu's official residence. The police used water sprays.

The demonstrators want to increase the pressure on Netanyahu.(Bild: APA/AFP/JACK GUEZ)

Numerous Israelis took to the streets on Saturday evening.(Bild: APA/AFP/JACK GUEZ)

Shira Elbag, whose 19-year-old daughter Liri was abducted by Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip during the attack on Israel by the radical Islamic group Hamas on October 7, called on her compatriots in an emotional speech to increase the pressure on Netanyahu. "It is time to go out and fight against indifference and for life," she said. "I ask you now to take to the streets with us and say with a united and clear voice: 'Bring them home now!"

Netanyahu under criticism
The relatives of the hostages and their supporters gathered as they do every Saturday in a square in Tel Aviv, which they have renamed "Hostages' Square". This week, a second demonstration took place in front of the Ministry of Defense, which was explicitly directed against Netanyahu's government. Some demonstrators held up placards on which they directly blamed Netanyahu for the unresolved fate of the hostages. Next to his photo was written: "You are the boss, you are to blame."

Many protesters blamed Netanyahu for the fate of the Israeli hostages.(Bild: APA/AFP/JACK GUEZ)

One former hostage said to Netanyahu at the demonstration in Tel Aviv: "Bring them home!" The head of government must give the Israeli negotiating team a "broad mandate" in the 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 being held in the Gaza Strip. "Don't come home without a deal, bring back our loved ones."

Resignation demanded
A former head of military intelligence, Amos Malka, called on Netanyahu to resign, according to the news website ynet. "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 onwards, opponents of the government are planning large demonstrations in Jerusalem, which are to last for several days. There, too, demands will be made for the government to resign.