Israel's parliament was preparing to open its summer session on Monday after a six-week recess and was set to become the focus of a renewed wave of anti-government protests.
The protests, mainly calling for early elections, came days after deep rifts within the wartime emergency cabinet surfaced as questions swirled about the stability of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government.
Before the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, large rallies against a judicial reform plan pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right, religiously ultra-conservative ruling coalition had rocked Israel for months. was. Grassroots leaders of anti-government protests had largely retreated following the Hamas-led attack, but many re-emerged to lead demonstrations on Monday, a “day of upheaval.”
Particle physicist Sikma Bressler, who became the face of the protests last year but has lowered his profile because of Israel's war in Gaza, led the action on Monday and brought hundreds of cars together. Lines moved slowly on highways across the country, causing traffic jams. gathered in Jerusalem.
A large rally was planned outside parliament for the opening of parliament, which was scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
There was a growing sense in Israel that the pretense of national unity spurred by October 7 and the war, and the grace period given to Mr. Netanyahu, was over.
A group of protesters called “Comrades and Sisters” made up of reservists returned to the main road connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Monday morning holding up portraits of the hostages remaining in Gaza. The group became famous for its protests against judicial reform plans last year.
At the time, the group controversially urged volunteer reservists to quit the military, arguing that the justice plan undermined the democracy they signed up to serve. But on October 7, the group's leaders abruptly reversed course and urged all those who received muster orders to join the war.
The 2023 protests focused on domestic issues such as judicial reform plans, the nature of Israeli democracy, and religious-secular tensions. By contrast, the scattered protests that have built up over recent months have centered on demands for the government to return the hostages and to take responsibility for its policy and intelligence failures leading up to October 7. .
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, has so far refused to take personal responsibility for these failures. his Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant; Benny Gantz, a former military commander and another key member of his war cabinet, said Netanyahu was prioritizing his own political survival over national security by placating his far-right coalition partners in the war effort. It is implicitly condemned.
Gantz and Gallant have publicly called on Prime Minister Netanyahu in recent days to come up with a decisive and consistent strategy for post-war Gaza, where Hamas continues to return to areas it says Israeli forces have cleared. Gantz has given an ultimatum: If he does not see a clear path forward, he will resign from his government by June 8.
Gantz's centrist National Unity Party said at the time that he joined the government in October out of a sense of responsibility. The defection from the party will not overthrow Mr. Netanyahu, and his coalition will still hold a majority of 64 seats in the 120-seat parliament.
But Monday's protests highlighted public frustration with the government, which has so far failed to meet its promised goal of eliminating Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“A majority of 64 people can't stop the people,” protest leader Bressler said as he prepared to leave.
— Isabel Kirshner Reporting from Jerusalem