Israeli protesters angry at government’s handling of hostage crisis call for new elections

Israeli protesters are calling for new elections as frustration grows over the government’s handling of the hostage crisis.

Supporters and families of the hostages kidnapped to Gaza by Hamas during the October 7 terror attack have been holding regular protests and sit-ins since the beginning of the war, but have mostly steered away from strong political messaging.

That is starting to change. An anti-government protest titled “Calling for elections now!” is scheduled for Saturday in central Tel Aviv, a third weekend in a row to see protests directly targeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. 

“The government of Israel declares in its actions that it is not competent and that the good of the state and its citizens are not at the top of its mind,” the protesters said in a statement.

“We will go out to demonstrate that our future depends only on us – we the people will determine our destiny!,” they said. 

With another protest scheduled for next Saturday, the protests are becoming a regular occurrence, although not yet at the same scale as the mass demonstrations against Netanyahu and his government last spring and summer.

Netanyahu’s government — the most right-wing in Israel’s history — endured months of mass protests last year over its planned judicial reforms. But Netanyahu and his government have mostly refused to accept the protesters’ demands.

The demonstrations were put on hold after the brutal October 7 attack and the formation of the emergency unity government. But with the anger over Netanyahu’s handling of the crisis rising, they could be coming back soon. 

Source: CNN