Protesters dressed as prisoners and street cleaners laid out a red carpet near the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem on Monday morning, and demonstrators chanted outside the Jerusalem District Court as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived for his final pretrial hearing.
The protesters near the Prime Minister’s Residence wore uniforms reading “corruption cleaners” and “Israel Prisons Service” and carried brooms and garbage cans. Photos from the scene showed protesters sweeping cash and a poster with Netanyahu’s face with the brooms.
“A situation in which an incumbent prime minister appears in court as a defendant is a black mark on the State of Israel and its democracy,” the so-called Crime Minister movement said Monday in a press release.“We must not normalize this madness. The coronavirus failure, which claimed more than 5,000 victims and caused an economic and social disaster for the citizens of Israel, illustrates that a person accused of a crime cannot run a state. Today, more than ever, Israel needs a full-time prime minister and not a defendant who has made an alliance with Kahanists to escape trial.”
Loud protests were reported outside the Jerusalem District Court as well after Netanyahu arrived, with Army Radio reporting about 200 protesters were gathered outside the courthouse. The noise could reportedly be heard from inside as well.
Photos and video from the scene showed protesters carrying signs reading "Crime Minister" and "go vote" among other slogans, and chanting loudly into loudspeakers. One pro-Netanyahu protester was seen in front of the courthouse as well.