100,000 rally in Tel Aviv as Israelis demand change amid Gaza conflict
According to the organizers ' estimates, 100,000 people demonstrated on Saturday in Tel Aviv six months into the war with Hamas. Anti-government demonstrations took place across the country, with the largest in Haifa, Caesarea, Herzliya, Kfar Saba, Ra'anana, and Pardes Hanna-Karkur, reports the Times of Israel portal.
In Tel Aviv, one of the participants of the demonstration announced that she would never forgive the government for its errors that led to the attack on 7 October 2023.
Six months of Israel's war with Hamas
Later, demonstrators demanding accelerated elections joined the march for the release of hostages. In Jerusalem, protesters gathered in front of the official residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding the release of hostages through agreements, not through fighting.
In Caesarea, after the anti-government march, the crowd pressed against the fence set up by the police around the prime minister's private residence. At least one person was arrested.
At the demonstration in Haifa, General Ami Ayalon, a former head of Shin Bet, Israel's internal intelligence and counter-intelligence service, and a former commander of the Israeli Navy, stated that peace talks with the Palestinians should begin, moderated by Saudi Arabia.
"Catastrophic error"
This would not mean "surrender, because it is the only way to preserve Jewish, democratic Israel", announced.
- Netanyahu made a catastrophic mistake by not deciding to debate what to do next (after the war with Hamas ended). Without a diplomatic aim, it will be an endless and futile fight, declared Ayalon.
According to the Times of Israel portal, the demonstration in Tel Aviv began with a minute of silence to commemorate the soldiers who died in this war.
Then, the first to speak was Anat Gilor, founder of the Kibbutz Holit in the Negev desert, which was attacked by terrorists on 7 October.
"My security, my trust was taken from me. Everything I took for granted. And no one came to apologise to me," she said. "I will not forgive (the government) for the rest of my life," she added.
Series of protests in Israel
Anti-government protests have been recurring in Israel for weeks. On Wednesday, Beni Gantz, a former chief of staff, opposition politician, and now minister in Israel's war cabinet, stated that parliamentary elections in Israel should occur in September. He indicated that an earlier vote would allow Israel to regain international support.
Last Saturday, the demonstration paralyzed the main highway in Tel Aviv.
The next day, about 100,000 people protested against Netanyahu in Jerusalem. Gathered in front of the parliament, demonstrators again demanded accelerated elections, the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas, and the inclusion of ultra-Orthodox religious school students in the mandatory military draft.
According to the normal cycle, parliamentary elections should take place in two years.
