On Saturday, protesters made their way to bridges and intersections across the country on Saturday afternoon in a massive display of the anti-Netanyahu sentiment that has sparked protests.
By TOBIAS SIEGALProtesters demonstrate outside the prime minister's residence in Balfour.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued nationwide on Saturday evening, with thousands of people gathering outside the Prime Minister’s Residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem and a smaller number gathering outside of Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea.On Saturday afternoon, protesters made their way to bridges and intersections across the country in a display of the anti-Netanyahu sentiment that has sparked protests in recent weeks. Protesters were heard shouting “Bibi Go home!” and “we’re sick of corruption!”“This is the seventh week in a row that civilians across Israel join the protests against Netanyahu, calling on him to pack his bags and resign after his utter failure in handling the health crisis,” a statement by the Black Flags movement read.“Instead of preventing a second wave, Netanyahu has been dealing with tax deductions for his family and for himself.”While previous protests – demanding Netanyahu’s immediate resignation over his pending charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust – were characterized by the young age of protesters, referred to as “anarchists” by Netanyahu himself, this evening’s protests saw a growing number of elderly people attending, according to N12."I will be enlisting into the IDF soon and I want to know that the country I'll be serving will have leaders I can be proud of," a protester told an N12 reporter.Opposition leader and chairman of Yesh Atid Yair Lapid expressed support for the protests, which he said are only getting bigger.“The protest is growing because it is just and authentic... This is our country. No one will take it from us. No one will ignore our voice,” Lapid said.As the evening progressed, Black Flag protesters in Eilat reported being attacked by tear gas sprayed at them from a passing vehicle. According to Walla!, police officers present were injured in the process.Earlier on Saturday, the "Crime Minister" movement, whose activists are leading the anti-Netanyahu protests, filed a police complaint against Yona Avrushmi, who murdered Emil Grunzweig, a Peace Now activist, at a rally in 1983 and gave an interview on Friday and referred to protesters as “germs that must be eliminated.”
Black Flag protesters said before Saturday's protests that "If Avrushmi is not arrested, and we end up experiencing violence tonight, the blood of protesters will be on the hands of the police."
