Tens of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets to call for a new ceasefire in Gaza and to protest against what they say is an attack on the country’s democracy by the rightwing governing coalition of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Key highways have been blocked and police have made at least 12 arrests amid heated scenes in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. More protests were expected in the coming days as the campaign “gathers momentum and energy”, campaigners said.
The immediate trigger for the anger was Netanyahu’s attempt to dismiss Ronen Bar, the head of the internal security agency, but the prime minister’s decision to shatter a two-month-old truce in Gaza with waves of lethal airstrikes has fuelled the demonstrations.
Protesters accuse the government of continuing the war for political reasons and ignoring the plight of the 59 hostages – about 24 of whom are believed to be alive – still held by Hamas in the devastated Palestinian territory.
“This government has now also started a war, once again, to protect itself, to divert the discourse from the things that bother the public in Israel. The government has lost all legitimacy on every possible level … They are failing,” said Eitan Herzel, chief executive of the Brothers in Arms protest movement.
On Wednesday thousands packed streets close to Netanyahu’s official residence in central Jerusalem. Many carried Israeli flags and placards with slogans in support of hostages still held in Gaza. Others beat drums and chanted “hostages deal now” as they marched in from other parts of Israel.
Ora Nakash Peled, a former senior naval officer and an organiser of the protests, had come from her home on a kibbutz near the northern city of Haifa. She had spent the night with other protesters in a tented camp on the outskirts of Jerusalem before walking into the city along a major highway.
“I think we have made our point … We need to be organised, we need to be persistent, we need to be focused. [The protest] cannot be violent [but] it doesn’t have to be polite.”
Protesters chanted: “Israel is not Turkey, Israel is not Iran,” and pointed to a series of recent moves by Netanyahu they call “red flags” for Israeli democracy.
One is the unprecedented effort to dismiss Bar. Another is a bid by the prime minister and his allies to oust the attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, who has argued that removing Bar from his post might be unlawful.
“The government has the authority to fire Bar but still has to comply with administrative law,” said Dr Amir Fuchs, a legal expert at the Israel Democracy Institute. “So, for example, if there is seen to be a conflict of interests, it could be stopped by the supreme court.”
Experts point out that Shin Bet, which has wide-ranging powers, is investigating Netanyahu’s close aides for alleged breaches of national security, including leaking classified documents to foreign media and taking money from Qatar, which is know to have given significant financial aid to Hamas. New suspects in the “Qatargate” affair were interviewed by Israeli police on Wednesday, local media reported.
Netanyahu is also facing a potential jail sentence at the conclusion of an ongoing corruption trial. The 75-year-old politician, who took power in Israel for the first time in 1996 and has served 17 years as prime minister, is giving evidence twice weekly.
Other concerns for protesters include reforms that would introduce more political appointees to committees that select judges.
A series of high-ranking officials seen as responsible for the mistakes and misjudgements that led to the Hamas attack in October 2023 have resigned. Netanyahu himself has not accepted any responsibility for Israel’s worst ever security disaster, in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed, and has resisted calls for a powerful commission of inquiry.
Fuchs said: “Netanyahu is doing this because he has a problem he wants to solve by centralising as much power as possible and getting rid of all the gatekeepers and professionals … but this does not align with the interests of the state of Israel, only with those of the prime minister and his government.”
Netanyahu claimed there was a “leftist deep state” working against him in a social media post on Wednesday.
“In America and in Israel, when a strong rightwing leader wins an election, the leftist deep state weaponises the justice system to thwart the people’s will. They won’t win in either place!” the post said.
Observers pointed to a strong echo in the current movement of the huge protests that erupted in 2023 when Netanyahu attempted to sack the then defence minister, Yoav Gallant, over his opposition to a planned judicial overhaul.
Opinion polls suggest Netanyahu would lose an election if one were held now, but he is likely to defy the protests, which are smaller than those two years ago, and ignore calls for new polls. A crucial budget vote before the end of the month now looks likely to go in the government’s favour.
The return of Itamar Ben-Gvir, an extreme rightwing politician, to the government after he walked out over the ceasefire deal signed in January has underlined the continuing and vital support for Netanyahu from the nationalist-religious camp in Israel.
Analysts said previously fragmented opposition groups had been brought together in recent days, though there are still no political leaders who look likely to threaten Netanyahu.
“It’s a very strong homogeneous [governing] coalition. It has a solid base and it is hard to see it falling apart. There is still no alternative or vision to Netanyahu being put forward,” said Mairav Zonszein, an expert on Israeli society and politics at the International Crisis Group.
Though protesters say they back a ceasefire now to ensure the return of the hostages, most reflect broader Israeli public opinion and believe the war in Gaza is necessary to eliminate any threat from Hamas.
Zonszein said the demonstrations could not be described as “anti-war”.
“It is not about what is happening in Gaza at all. It is not about civilian casualties there … It is focused on the hostages and the lack of trust in the government.”