The protests are increasing against the government of Israel

 

The war between Israel and Hamas

The protests in Israel are getting bigger

Nivette Dawod

Published 19.51

The Prime Minister must resign – and the hostages released.

Now the tone is being raised among the demonstrators in Israel.

- We have realized that you are the obstacle, says Einav Zangauker, whose son is captured in Gaza, and directed at Benjamin Netanyahu.

Almost half a year of war in Gaza - after the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel - has passed.

Over 100 people, the majority of them Israelis, are still being held hostage by the terror-labeled group.

And now the pressure is increasing from both relatives and protesters in Israel.

This weekend saw the biggest demonstration against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, writes the Times of Israel.

This weekend, large numbers of people protested against Benjamin Netanyahu's government. Photo: Leo Correa/AP

"You who are the obstacle"

According to the organizers, around 100,000 people participated, media reports that the number is rather in the tens of thousands.

- We need elections. The government does not have the people's trust, a protester told the newspaper.

Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is a hostage in Gaza, said according to Haaretz:

- After 176 days, we have realized that you are the obstacle, and addressed Netanyahu directly.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Sunday at a rally that the only thing that matters to Netanyahu is staying in power.

 

Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Ronen Zvulun/TT

"Praying and praying"

He pointed, among other things, to the bill that the prime minister and his coalition are working on, which means that ultra-Orthodox Jews can continue to be exempt from military service.

- The Israeli Defense Forces are begging and asking for more soldiers, but they don't care. If one hundredth, one thousandth, one ounce of this organizational efficiency had been placed on the hostages, those forced to evacuate, managing the war, or the economy, our situation would be completely different, Lapid said, according to the Times of Israel.

Paralyze the country

The fact that the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has also proposed a work break between April 7 and May 15 has further angered.

- This week the Knesset takes a break in the middle of war. The soldiers don't get a break. The hostages don't get a break, Lapid said.

Holding an election "just before victory" would paralyze the country and the hostage negotiations, Netanyahu has said of the criticism.

- The first to welcome this is Hamas, and that says it all.

The man's sign reads "No more war" Photo: Leo Correa/AP

FACTS

Background

More than five months have passed since October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel in what is being called the worst massacre of Jews in modern times.

Over 1,100 people, mainly Israelis, were killed and 240 people were kidnapped. Over 130 of them are still believed to be with Hamas in Gaza.

The military invasion that Israel launched shortly afterwards against the Gaza Strip - with the aim of exterminating Hamas and bringing back the hostages - has been very bloody. By Palestinians it is called a new Nakba, catastrophe, just like the expulsion of Palestinians that took place in 1948 when the state of Israel was established.

According to the Hamas-controlled health department in Gaza, over 32,000 Palestinians are estimated to have been killed by Israeli attacks, the majority of them women and children. Over 74,000 have been injured.

The UN has also warned that famine is imminent.