Protesters from all across the country marched from the Knesset to Jerusalem’s Paris Square, which abuts Netanyahu’s residence on Balfour Street. Organizers of the demonstration said some 15,000 protesters attended at first, later estimating that a total of 40-50,000 were there — the highest turnout in months of weekly protests outside the Prime Minister’s Residence. Several Hebrew media reports put the number at 20,000 or over.
For nearly nine months, the demonstrators have been able to make the anti-Netanyahu gatherings a weekly feature of Israel’s political life. Despite dwindling turnout in recent weeks, protest organizers argued the pressure they leveled against Netanyahu helped push Israel towards its fourth elections in two years.
In late June, Haskel — a retired Israeli Air Force brigadier general — was arrested by the Israel Police while protesting Netanyahu by Paris Square. His detention sparked widespread outrage and denunciations from prominent public figures, turning him into a symbol of the burgeoning movement.
The following week, demonstrators and police clashed in downtown Jerusalem. Police turned water cannons against demonstrators who broke through a police barricade and marched through downtown Jerusalem.
At its peak in mid-summer, the anti-Netanyahu protests saw tens of thousands take to the streets in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, with thousands more carrying black flags and protest signs on bridges and intersections across the country. READ MORE
