Demonstrations against Netanyahu in Israel

Tel Aviv: Several Israeli cities witnessed demonstrations Saturday night against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his approach to tackling the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, despite authorities imposing new restrictions on gatherings.

In Tel Aviv, protesters organized simultaneous marches in various parts of the city bordering the Mediterranean, according to an AFP photographer.

While it appeared that most of the protesters wore masks, the police announced in a statement that they had deliberately violated social distancing rules and those limiting gatherings.

The police did not give any estimate of the number of participants.

On Wednesday, the Israeli parliament approved a law restricting demonstrations during the state of emergency related to the outbreak of the new Corona virus, in a move intended, according to opponents of the text, to stop protests against Netanyahu that take place during Several months.

On Friday, Israeli Tourism Minister Assaf Zamir, affiliated with the centrist Blue-White party, resigned in protest of government-imposed restrictions on demonstrations.

In a tweet announcing his resignation, Zamir considered Netanyahu’s focus to be on his ongoing trial for corruption cases and the growing protests against him, rather than on fighting the second wave of Covid-19.

“I am not willing to accept for another minute a reality in which the right to demonstrate is restricted,” Zamir wrote on Twitter, adding: “That is why I must do what my conscience dictates.”

Benny Gantz, the leader of the Blue and White party, chose Orit Farkash HaCohen to fill the position in place of Zamir, while the resignation did not appear to put the coalition government in immediate danger, although observers expected further resignations.

“We entered government to stop the spread of the coronavirus, not to stop democracy or the rule of law,” Gantz said.

Israel entered the second phase of comprehensive closure on September 18, which includes the closure of non-vital workplaces, markets, places of worship, cultural activities and educational institutions, as well as limiting movement distance to obtain essential needs. like food, medicine and medicine, in one kilometer.

The new legislation allows the government to declare a “special state of emergency for the Corona pandemic” for a period of one week, preventing protesters from moving for a distance of more than 1,000 meters and limiting the number of protesters.

But the left-wing Haaretz newspaper reported on Friday that there are social media apps that locate users of the protests close to their places of residence.

Police tightened identity checks, issued violations against those found to have violated rules to restrict movement and arrested “those who violate public order,” according to a statement.

The police did not announce the number of detainees, but announced that “hundreds” of infractions were released against violators of the rules of the state of emergency.

In Jerusalem, Israeli media estimated the number of protesters outside Netanyahu’s official residence at around 200, after thousands demonstrated at this point last week.

Demonstrations were also held in various cities.

Israel, which has a population of around 9 million, has counted more than 260,000 COVID-19 cases, including more than 1,600 deaths.

The country currently has the highest weekly injury rate per population in the world.