On Tuesday, the Israeli police forcefully responded to a protest organized by opponents of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, who responded to the demonstrations by saying, “A civil war should not break out,” while the protesters insisted on dismissing his government and holding early elections.
Israeli Channel 12 said that the police evacuated anti-government demonstrators after they closed 16th Street in West Jerusalem. A video clip also showed police officers removing Israelis who had tied themselves with ropes tied to iron bars with the aim of closing the street.
Participants in the demonstrations chanted “elections now,” in reference to the demand for early elections to overthrow the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
The head of the “State Camp”, Benny Gantz, said on the “X” platform, directing his words to Netanyahu, “The demonstrations taking place in the street are against the government, not against army soldiers.”
As for the leader of the Israeli opposition, Yair Lapid, he said, “The Netanyahu government must be overthrown, and it is possible to do that. From the moment Benny Gantz resigned from the government, the opposition has the means, and we will work together to bring down the government,” which he described as “crazy, engaged in internal conflicts, and incapable of doing anything.” “Anything for the south and the north.”
Civil war
For his part, Netanyahu said, “Internal unity is a basic condition for what he called victory in the war, and a civil war must not occur in Israel,” accusing what he described as “an extremist minority of practicing violence,” considering that it “does not represent the majority of the people.”
Netanyahu’s words came during a press conference after his participation in a memorial service for those killed by the Israeli army who fell in ground battles in the Gaza Strip.
He continued, “We are fighting on several fronts in the south in the Gaza Strip until Hamas is eliminated and all its detainees are returned, and in the north on the border with Lebanon until we return our residents safely to their homes, and in the east we are working to prevent Iran from encircling us and obtaining nuclear weapons.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Channel 12 reported that the families of detainees who were killed in Gaza and whose bodies were recovered by the army rejected an invitation from Netanyahu’s office to attend a ceremony honoring the fighters who recovered the bodies.
The Israeli channel quoted these families as saying that Netanyahu did not call them to offer condolences after the security forces recovered the bodies.
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that Netanyahu will hold meetings this week with the families of the detainees and those killed, with the first meeting being held today, Tuesday, and another meeting to be held the day after tomorrow, Thursday.
Israel has recently witnessed several internal conflicts, represented by the escalation of the families of prisoners detained in the Gaza Strip in their protests against the government, and the resulting daily demonstrations with the participation of tens of thousands of Israelis.
Opposition parties and civil institutions in Israel, along with Defense Minister Yoav Galant, also call for the recruitment of religious Jews to “distribute the burden in Israeli society,” which is opposed by most government coalition ministers.
The “Brothers in Arms” organization – which includes former soldiers in the Israeli army – called for what it called Resistance Week activities in order to overthrow the government and go to early elections. The activities began last Saturday and will continue until the day after tomorrow, Thursday.
The protests reached their peak yesterday evening, Monday, as tens of thousands of protesters participated in a demonstration in front of the Knesset, before heading to Netanyahu’s residence in West Jerusalem.
Recently, the families of Israeli prisoners in Gaza escalated their protests to pressure the government to reach an agreement with Hamas to release their sons, but the military operation that Tel Aviv began on May 6 in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip obstructed this.