Protesters gathered outside the Aza Street residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the sixth straight day of protests in Jerusalem and the seventh day of major protests following the announcement of the government’s intent to fire Shin Bet (Israeli Security Agency) chief Ronen Bar.
Those gathered held Israeli flags and yellow flags for the hostages; some wore red hats emblazoned with the words “end this f***ing war and held signs protesting the perceived assault by Netanyahu on Israeli democracy.
Protesters gathered later in the day for a protest by the Shift 101 protest movement for the hostages, who sat near Jerusalem’s Paris Square.
While protesters were gathered outside the prime minister’s home over the course of the day, more took part in a larger protest later in the evening.
Protests initially broke out last week across the country after Netanyahu announced his intention to advance Bar’s firing, a move seen by many as a direct threat to democracy, in part because of the agency’s role in investigating the
Qatargate case and the prime minister’s possible involvement in it.
Calls to protest intensify
The rallies are also viewed as a continued response to the highly contentious judicial reform.
Calls to demonstrate only intensified as the country returned to fighting in Gaza on Tuesday. Protesters called for the prioritization of bringing the hostages home and accused the government of returning to war as part of a political move to maintain power rather than for the good of the people.