Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the Knesset on Sunday, calling for the dissolution of the Knesset and setting an immediate date for elections, claiming it is a direct consequence of its failure to secure a hostage deal. Parallel protests took place in Tel Aviv.
Nearby, in the Knesset, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a press conference with reporters where he mostly addressed hostage talks and plans for the IDF’s invasion of Gaza but also said that “whoever says that I am not doing everything to free our hostages – is wrong and misleading.”
In Jerusalem, Begin Road was blocked in both directions. Speakers included parents of hostages or victims of October 7, Yesh Atid chairman and head of the opposition Yair Lapid, as well as Moshe Redman, one of the leaders of the judicial overhaul protest movement.
A tent city was reportedly set up outside of the Knesset building. Demonstrations began at 7 p.m.
The main demands of the demonstration
The three main points of the demonstration, according to a spokesperson, were:
1. Announcing a date for the elections, which will be held as soon as possible and before the anniversary of the October 7 disaster.
2. Promotion of a deal for the return of the hostages.
3. Canceling the scheduled recess of the Knesset at a time when the hostages have not yet returned and hundreds of thousands of displaced Israelis have not yet returned to their homes.
The demonstrations and the protest camp were coordinated and approved by the Israel Police.
Brothers in Arms clash with Haredi residents
Brothers in Arms clashed with haredi (ultra-Orthodox) residents in Mea Shearim over proposals to extend the draft law to haredi yeshiva students.
Brothers in Arms became prominent during the anti-judicial reform protests as a protest group representing reservists protesting the reform. They are a majority secular group.
הפרובוקציה של אחים לנשק שצועדים למאה שערים כדי לייצר עימות ואלימות זורקת אותנו ישר ל6.10 כאילו לא למדנו כלום ולא עברנו את הטבח הנורא. https://t.co/ToADNUnimC
— בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) March 31, 2024
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich condemned the clash, saying, “[It] is as if we learned nothing and did not go through the terrible massacre.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir “strongly” condemned the clash and called it an attempt at “stirring up fratricidal war and division in Israeli society.”
He also accused the group of not caring about Israel’s security due to their threatened refusal to serve in the reserves over the judicial reform.