Protests against government begun in Israel
Protests against the government have started in Israel (photo: GettyImages)
In Israel, four-day protests have begun demanding the resignation of the government. Demonstrators are calling for early elections, according to The Times of Israel.
The protest organizers have called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government to resign, urging Israel to hold early elections. They also demand that the country's leadership agree to a deal to release hostages, which would lead to the release of 130 captives held in the Gaza Strip since then.
Four days of protests and rallies are planned in Jerusalem this week.
Organizers claimed more than 100,000 people had taken part, while media outlets reported turnout in the tens of thousands.
Footage of the rally has appeared online.
100 אלף מפגינים בירושלים.
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בחירות עכשיו, את כולם עכשיו.
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Many participants in the Jerusalem rally expressed distrust that Netanyahu is still in power and that the country has not yet held elections six months after a Hamas terrorist attack.
"It is beyond belief that this country, which was so successful… is being led down [this] path by one man and his henchmen," one protester told a source.
"We need elections. The government doesn’t have the public’s faith. And [now] they want to pass a law allowing one in five people to avoid army service," another participant said.
According to the police, at least one protester was arrested.
Protesters set up over 100 tents near the Knesset to stay overnight at the scene.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, responding to questions from journalists about the possibility of elections, said that such a step would paralyze the country - amid a war, just moments before victory - for up to eight months.
"It would paralyze negotiations for freeing our hostages and would bring an end to the war before the goals are completely achieved. And the first who would welcome this is Hamas, and that tells you everything," the prime minister replied.
War in Israel
Earlier, we reported that the US presented an alternative plan for a military operation in the city of Rafah, located in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
We also reported that, according to The Washington Post, the US secretly approved the transfer of bombs and fighter jets worth billions of dollars to Israel.
