Israelis protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023. (AP/Ariel Schalit)
Protesters in Israel marched against the ruling coalition and the handling of the war against Hamas. They poured into Habima Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to demonstrate against the government and call for immediate elections over the management of the ongoing war in Gaza and the failure so far to secure the release of the remaining hostages, according to a report by Times of Israeli .
In one of the first major, explicitly anti-government protests since the war began on October 7, demonstrators for “elections now” flocked to the central Tel Aviv square many bearing banners that were highly antagonistic toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his hardline coalition, as well as the war in Gaza, the report added
“The cry of mothers: Get our soldiers out of Gaza now,” read one banner, while another called for “A diplomatic agreement.” Yet another protester held a banner declaring “Israel will not survive if we don’t bring him down.”
Possible new agreement
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during at a press briefing on Saturday evening, that there was possible “movement” toward a new agreement for the release of the remaining hostages but also stressed that he doesn’t “want to raise exaggerated expectations.”
“Hamas has issued all kinds of ultimatums that we’ve not accepted,” he said, noting that if a viable deal is possible, “it will be carried out.”
Right now, he added carefully, “We see a possibility, maybe, for movement.”
Down the road from Habima, families and other supporters gathered for an 11th straight week at the renamed Hostages’ Square outside the Tel Aviv Art Museum to call for the release of those being held in Gaza. Despite increasingly vocal criticism of the government over the lack of an agreement for their release, organizers have taken pains to keep the demonstrations apolitical.
It is believed that the remaining 129 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 are in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November. Four hostages were released prior to that, and one was rescued by troops. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered and three hostages were mistakenly killed by the military. The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed the deaths of 23 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.
Israelis protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in Tel Aviv, Israel, Dec. 30, 2023. (AP/Ariel Schalit)
Guy Ginat, a protester from Rehovot, held a banner in English with the words “You bring us death and say ‘that’s life,’” referencing a remark made by Netanyahu last month after an an armed civilian who stopped a deadly terror attack in Jerusalem was mistakenly shot dead by a soldier.
“We need to eliminate this regime, it’s taking us to a very undemocratic place, somewhere my children and I do not have a place in, if it continues like this,” said Ginat.
Rehovot resident Guy Ginat (left) at an anti-government rally in Tel Aviv’s Habima Square. Ginat said the country was becoming undemocratic under the current government and came to demand immediate elections, December 30, 2023. (Jeremy Sharon/The Times of Israel)
Despite demanding immediate elections, Ginat is not enthusiastic about the political leaders who might be able to defeat the current coalition, but expressed optimism that once a new election is called, more promising candidates for his vision of the country might come forward.
He also expressed confidence that the current coalition would be defeated in any upcoming election, and that “a more liberal government which will preserve the character of the country as a liberal state” would replace the current one.
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