Anti-Netanyahu protests pick up steam

While anti-Netanyahu protests that had rocked Israel for months before the beginning of the war initially subsided after the attack on October 7, the unpopular leader has faced renewed calls to step down.

“This is the second week where there is expected to be large numbers. In fact, last week, an estimated 20,000 people attended this protest,” Al Jazeera correspondent Sara Khairat reported from a rally in Tel Aviv. “They’re calling for early elections, and they’ve also called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to quit.”

“They [anti-Netanyahu protests] had stopped [after October 7] for two reasons. First, the country had been under emergency law, and second, many agreed across Israel that they needed to stay united despite any differences, saying that now wasn’t the time to be talking about anything other than bringing the captives home and focusing on the war,” she added.