Thousands of protesters took to the streets near the official residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a renewed show of force, as weeks of protests demanding his resignation were no sign of slowing down.
Protesters were angry over the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis and said Netanyahu should not stay in office while on trial for corruption charges.
In central Jerusalem on Saturday night, Protestants held Israeli flags, blew horns and sang to Netanyahu.
Some held posters calling him “Crime Minister” or “out of touch” while dressed as an outsider, in a move aimed at mocking Netanyahu’s son, Yair, who caused a public uproar this week when he described the protesters as “aliens”.
Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett, reporting from the rally in Jerusalem, described it as “another very noisy, substantial protest “.
“Once again, it seems very much dominated by the Israeli political left. We see the black flags of pro-democracy, the Anti-Netanyahu movement, and others who have long protested against his premiership, who say that he has to resign due to the fact that he is on probation “
Although Netanyahu has sought to reduce protests, the rallies only seem to be getting stronger – they are the largest since protests erupted in 2011 against the country’s high cost of living.
After moving quickly earlier this year to contain the coronavirus, critics believe Israel opened its economy too quickly.
The country is now facing an increase in infections – confirmed cases have passed 82,000, including 592 deaths – while unemployment has jumped to more than 20 percent.
Self-employed workers, whose businesses were hurt in the midst of the pandemic’s economic fallout, also joined Saturday’s protest.
Demonstrate
Netanyahu has dismissed the protesters as “leftists” and “anarchists” and accused local media of intensifying the protests by giving them heavy coverage.
The Israeli prime minister was sworn in for a fifth term in May after clamoring for a coalition deal four months ago with centrist Benny Gantz, his main rival in three undecided elections since April 2019.
Netanyahu, who is on the right wing of the Likud party, has often complained about parsebiasis against him, and some of the accusers he deals with in a corruption case related to failed attempts to seek favorable coverage of media barons in exchange for state favor.
The prime minister has wrongly convicted in the three corruption cases against him.
The protests have become a recurring theme amid dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and Netanyahu’s upcoming trial. [Amir Levy/Getty Images]
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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