Demonstrators join families of hostages in cities across country and vow to persist until he is ousted as PM
Thousands of people across Israel have joined families of hostages to protest against the government and call for the removal of Benjamin Netanyahu, as the Israeli prime minister grapples with one of the most serious threats yet to his coalition.
The protesters in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Be’er Sheva, Caesarea and other cities on Saturday demanded the release of those still held captive in Gaza and labelled the PM as an “obstacle to the deal”, vowing to persist until he is ousted from office.
The nationwide protests coincided with reports from the Egyptian TV station Al-Qahera, known for its ties to the country’s intelligence services, indicating that negotiations for a truce between Israel and Hamas were scheduled to resume in Cairo on Sunday.
“It’s been 176 days that I haven’t turned a blind eye to the thoughts and fear of what my son and the other abductees are going through,” said Shira Albag, the mother of the hostage Liri Albag. “The people of Israel won’t forget or forgive anyone who prevents a deal that would bring them [the hostages] back to us. After 176 days, 4,224 hours, the excuses have run out.”
Raz Ben-Ami, a former hostage freed nearly two months ago, said: “They [the hostages] won’t last there, no one can survive what they go through there, believe me.”
Protesters called out that they “will not stop until they’re all home”, chanting “enough killing, enough despair, the hostages are the most important thing”.
Police used water cannon to disperse protesters and arrested 16 people.
The families of hostages have urged ministers, including Netanyahu’s political rival and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, to unite with other Knesset members in removing Netanyahu from power, accusing the PM of deliberately sabotaging efforts to secure the release of their relatives.
