Israel: New Protests Against Netanyahu

Thousands of Israelis went back to his city streets today to protest the Prime Minister’s far-right government At Tel Aviv, protesters called for Netanyahu’s resignation of early elections as well as the release of the hostages Hamas continues to hold in Gaza, while demonstrations were also held in other cities of Israel, such as Jerusalem and Haifa. A woman who had been taken hostage and released under a Hamas/Israel agreement and whose husband is still detained in Gaza, spoke at the protest in Tel Aviv, asking Netanyahu for the release of hostages. “Bring them back!” he said. The woman called on the prime minister to give the Israeli negotiating team a “wide mandate” in the negotiations for an agreement to release the remaining hostages in exchange for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of Palestinian prisoners. “Don’t go back without a deal, bring back our loved ones,” he said. According to Israeli news agency ynet, a former head of military intelligence services, Amos Malka, called on Netanyahu to resign. “The government sacrifices hostages, isolates Israel and strengthens Hamas,” he said at a protest in Caesarea. Representatives of the government are planning major demonstrations in Jerusalem tomorrow Sunday and the next few days.