Alwaght- Thousands of Israelis have protested in Tel Aviv, blaming Netanyahu for the dire security situation the Israeli regime is in and demanding a ceasefire deal that will bring home prisoners held by Hamas since October 7.
Like other Saturday nights, the protestors gathered outside the defense ministry and called for Netanyahu to step down amid ongoing war on Gaza and a failure to secure a deal with Hamas resistance movement. A similar protest was organized near Netanyahu’s residence in Al-Quds (Jerusalem).
They chanted "we will not settle down until they [prisoners] return home", and "Stop the war, the most important thing are the hostages."
Police forces, meanwhile, clashed with demonstrators as they tried to disperse them.
According to Israeli media outlets, hundreds stormed the barriers set up by the police in front of Netanyahu's residence.
The families of the prisoners present in the demonstration declared that Netanyahu was responsible for the captivity of their members.
They said: "Netanyahu's behavior is a crime, and if we don't do something to remove him, we will never see our children again."
They insisted that Netanyahu ouster is their final aim. "We act to remove you," they addressed Netanyahu.
According to Aljazeera, the demonstrators accused the PM of prioritizing his party's interests over the interests of the Israeli regime and demanded the conclusion of negotiations with Hamas.
Many Israelis feel that Netanyahu is the main obstacle to signing a deal with Hamas and bringing the captives held in Gaza back home, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut said.
The rallies against Netanyahu continue amid rays of hope about resumption of truce talks.
An Israeli official told the Reuters news agency that Israel would send a delegation to the Cairo talks on Sunday. A Hamas official however told Reuters the resistance movement would wait to hear from Cairo mediators on the outcome of their talks with Israel first.
A statement from Netanyahu’s office said he had authorised the Israeli negotiating team to meet with mediators in both Cairo and Doha, and had given them a mandate with which to negotiate, Aljazeera reported.
