Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday rejected the idea of holding early elections, despite growing public discontent over his handling of the war in Gaza and the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking at a press conference, Netanyahu said that he was focused on leading the country through the crisis and that he had no intention of dissolving the parliament and calling for a snap vote.
“I am not interested in early elections. I am interested in a stable and strong government that can deal with the challenges we face,” Netanyahu said. “We have a budget to pass, we have a peace plan to advance, we have a vaccine to distribute, we have a war to win.”
Netanyahu has seen his popularity plummet in opinion polls since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that sparked the devastating war in Gaza, which has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians and 2000 Israelis, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Anti-government protests that shook the country for much of 2023 have largely subsided during the war, as most Israelis rallied behind the military operation and the government’s efforts to restore security and deterrence.
Still, demonstrators again took to the streets of Tel Aviv Saturday night, calling for new elections and accusing Netanyahu of corruption, incompetence, and authoritarianism. The protest, which was organized by various civil society groups and opposition parties, drew thousands of people, who waved flags, chanted slogans, and held signs demanding Netanyahu’s resignation.
The protesters also criticized Netanyahu for his response to the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 400,000 Israelis and killed over 3,000. They accused him of mishandling the health and economic crisis, imposing harsh and inconsistent lockdowns, failing to provide adequate support for the unemployed and the businesses, and politicizing the vaccine rollout.
The protest was largely peaceful, but there were some clashes between the demonstrators and the police, who used water cannons, stun grenades, and tear gas to disperse the crowd. Some protesters also threw stones, bottles, and fireworks at the police, and set fire to trash cans and barricades. The police said that they arrested 12 people for disturbing public order and assaulting officers.
A New Round
The protest was the first major anti-government rally in Tel Aviv since the war in Gaza began, and it signaled a revival of the social movement that had challenged Netanyahu’s rule for months before the conflict. The organizers said that they planned to hold more protests in the coming weeks, and to expand their activities to other cities and towns across the country.
The opposition leader, Yair Lapid, who heads the centrist Yesh Atid party, joined the protest and addressed the crowd, saying that Netanyahu had lost the trust and the support of the people, and that he should step down and make way for a new leadership.
“Netanyahu has failed. He has failed in Gaza, he has failed in corona, he has failed in the economy, he has failed in the rule of law, he has failed in everything,” Lapid said. “He is not a leader, he is a survivor. He is not a statesman, he is a suspect. He is not a prime minister, he is a problem.”
Lapid, who is Netanyahu’s main rival in the polls, said that he was ready to form an alternative government with other parties from across the political spectrum, and to offer the public a vision of hope and change.
“We are here to say enough. Enough of the lies, enough of the incitement, enough of the division, enough of the fear,” Lapid said. “We are here to say yes. Yes to unity, yes to democracy, yes to peace, yes to a new future for Israel.”
