Thousands of Israelis take part in anti-government protests

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets of Jerusalem on Monday, continuing three days of protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and demanding new elections.

Protests have intensified as the Gaza war nears the end of its sixth month, with anger growing over the government’s handling of the 134 Israeli hostages still held by the Gaza Islamist movement Hamas.

Jerusalem protester Timna Benn, using Netanyahu’s nickname, said: “We are here to protest. To demand elections as soon as possible. We feel we have reached our limit. We really need to get rid of Bibi .”

Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition faced the largest protests in Israel’s history last year, when hundreds of thousands took part in weekly demonstrations against plans to reform the powers of the Supreme Court, which protesters saw as an attack on the foundations of Israel’s democracy .

Netanyahu has repeatedly ruled out holding snap elections, which polls suggest he will lose, and said going to the polls during the war would only benefit Hamas.

He promised to bring the hostages home and destroy Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules Gaza. More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in months-long Israeli attacks, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry.

But months later, the crisis in Gaza put normal political rules on hold and Netanyahu faced growing opposition.

A majority of Israelis blame Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, for security failures that led to Hamas militants launching devastating attacks on southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, a survey shows. The attack killed about 1,200 people. Dozens of hostages were taken.

“They don’t care about what’s happening to the country and the people. They care about maintaining their position in the government. They work for themselves, not for the people. It’s that simple,” protester Raphael Shaked-Gah Vish said.

To further complicate matters, Netanyahu also faces protests from ultra-Orthodox Jewish demonstrators who are angry about the removal of exemptions from compulsory military service for young students at religious seminaries.