Protesters have taken to the streets to express their anger at the failures perceived by leaders to face the unprecedented challenges that the pandemic adds to.
For many, it underscores the feeling that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was wrong after appearing to have the virus firmly under control just two months ago.
Thousands of protesters demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Saturday, and thousands more protested in front of Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
Referring to Netanyahu’s ongoing trial for bribery and breach of trust charges, charges that the Prime Minister denies, the protesters had signs saying: “We are saving democracy, we are fighting corruption” and “No to dictatorship! under the crown! “
Some blocked a tram line in Jerusalem’s main business district and damaged property, according to police. The video showed protesters trying to break the metal barriers on the street in front of the Prime Minister’s residence. Police say they made 50 arrests throughout the night.
Tuesday’s protest was led by the Black Flag anti-corruption movement, but the demonstration also focused on the deterioration of Israel’s economic situation caused by the pandemic. The country’s unemployment rate hit 21% this week and recent polls have shown that public confidence in the government’s handling of the health crisis is plummeting.
A Black Flag spokesperson told CNN that Netanyahu should step down and give way to someone who could solve the country’s problems rather than focus on defending himself in court. Roee Neuman also disputed claims that the protest had a violent advantage, describing it instead as “stormy.”
“We are talking about people’s frustration,” he said.
Serbia curfew protests
Protests erupted into violence in Serbia’s capital Belgrade last week during protests sparked by the government’s plan to impose a curfew to try to stem a dramatic increase in coronavirus cases.
Authorities abandoned that plan after two nights of unrest, instead of banning indoor or outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people, and closing all hospitality and retail venues between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
But protests continued in Belgrade and other cities, and the protests evolved into broader dissent over the government of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
Protesters allege he lifted the shutdown too soon to be able to hold parliamentary elections in June, the first in Europe during the pandemic, and allow large gatherings, bars and nightclubs to operate at full capacity. They say he then tried to reimpose it after the vote as the number of infections increased.
The ruling party won by a collapse and the majority of the opposition boycotted the elections.
Vucic has repeatedly denied those allegations and blamed his political opponents on Friday for organizing the protests. He previously said that “extremists” and “foreign agencies” caused the riots.
Anti-government protests erupted into violence on Friday, with a protester stabbed in the leg in front of the Serbian parliament, the Interior Ministry said. Police were thrown with bottles and flares, and finally responded with rounds of tear gas. The Interior Ministry said at least 118 officers were injured.
Serbia suffered its highest number of daily deaths on Friday. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic called it “the worst day” since the start of the pandemic, with 386 new infections and 18 deaths. On May 6, when Serbia revoked the state of emergency and lifted most of the restrictions, there were three deaths and 48 new cases, according to the Ministry of Health.
She said the protests during the pandemic were “irresponsible” and did not rule out imposing a curfew if the situation deteriorates further.
Serbian Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar said hospitals were “overloaded” and that Belgrade patients were diverted to hospitals in cities up to 50 miles away.
During Thursday’s peaceful parliament sit-in, some protesters held up signs saying “sit down.” Several told CNN affiliate N1 that this was an attempt to distance themselves from what they called “provocateurs who caused the riots” during the protests on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Amnesty International warned on Thursday of the “disproportionate use of force against entire protests” after a police video appeared hitting three men who were sitting on a bench.
Social unrest
Protests related to the virus have also erupted in other countries.
In Bulgaria, anti-government protests have erupted again as coronavirus cases continue to escalate. Dimitar Bechev, a researcher at the Center for Slavic, Eurasian and Eastern European Studies at the University of North Carolina, told CNN: “Covid is probably playing very marginally in the sense that people were trapped at home and now they can leave. outside.” But he said the real reasons were around corruption allegations among political leaders.
The IEP said that most of the indicators in its Global Peace Index (GPI) and Positive Peace Index (IPP), which measures the attitudes, institutions and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies, “would likely be adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. “
CNN’s Michael Schwartz, Amir Tal and Andrew Carey contributed to the reports.
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