Thousands of Israelis demonstrated Monday evening against the conduct of the war in Gaza by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and for the holding of early elections. During the night, the Israeli police reported, in a press release, nine arrests, some linked according to them to violence against the police, and indicated that police officers had been “slightly injured”.
This demonstration comes about a week after the resignation of the war cabinet of centrist leaders Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, two former army chiefs, which led to the dissolution of this body set up after the October 7 attack. Despite the departure of these two opposition figures, who joined the government as a sign of unity after the Hamas attacks, Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies retain their majority in the Knesset (Parliament).
“A siege should be imposed on Jerusalem”
On Monday, demonstrators went to Jerusalem in front of Parliament and Mr. Netanyahu’s residence, calling in particular for early elections. “Each of (Mr. Netanyahu’s) actions goes towards the destruction of Israel. He is responsible for what happened on October 7,” accused Moshe Sandarovich, 73, a retired engineer.
“I am happy to see that people have come out. And I hope that this continues. A siege should be imposed on Jerusalem, on the Knesset. We must paralyze the country to bring down the government,” said Yaacov Godo , father of Tom Godo, killed by Hamas on October 7. That day, commandos of the Palestinian Islamist movement infiltrated from the Gaza Strip in southern Israel carried out an unprecedented attack which resulted in the death of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count. based on official Israeli data. Of 251 people kidnapped, 116 are still held hostage in Gaza, of whom 41 are dead, according to the army.
“Everyone! Now!”
A senior Israeli official involved in the negotiations for the release of the hostages told AFP that Israel knew with certainty that “dozens” of hostages held in Gaza were alive. “We cannot leave them there for long, they will die,” added the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
In retaliation for the October 7 attack, the Israeli army launched an offensive on the Gaza Strip which has so far left 37,347 dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Gaza government’s Health Ministry. led by the Islamist movement. Some carrying signs demanding new elections, the demonstrators called for a ceasefire so that the last hostages could return home.
“Everyone! Now!”, they chanted, before observing a minute of silence for those still held in the territory. Some protesters wore t-shirts emblazoned with slogans such as “Stop the war” and “We are all equal.” “After 75 years of existence of this country and eight months of war, there is a gap, we are not equal. This must change,” said Kfir Roffe, a 50-year-old protester. “We must be equal, Muslims, Christians, all the people of Israel must come together.” Similar demonstrations had already brought together tens of thousands of people in Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest city, in recent weeks.