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Antigovernment rallies rock Israel’s capital



Mass demonstrations are taking place in Tel Aviv demanding the resignation of Netanyahu’s government and calling for a captive exchange deal, according to social media footage verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency Sanad.

Footage on social media showed thousands of Israelis waving Israeli flags as they demonstrated.


Captives’ blood on Netanyahu’s hands, Israeli protester says

A family member of a captive who was held by Hamas in Gaza says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on not stopping the war as part of the prisoner exchange deal is “what stands between us and our loved ones”.

“Continuing the war means that the captives will be killed by the government of Israel. The blood is on your hands,” Ella Metzger, the daughter-in-law of Yoram Metzger, who died in Hamas captivity aged 80, said at an antigovernment protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday.

“Time and time again, Netanyahu derails all deals at the last minute. Netanyahu must be prevented from blocking the deal next time.”


Clashes as Israeli police disperse antigovernment protests in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem

Israeli police have clashed with antigovernment protesters in Tel Aviv and arrested several people in Jerusalem as they dispersed crowds calling for early elections and a deal to free captives held in Gaza, according to the Times of Israel.

In Tel Aviv, opposition lawmaker Naama Lazimi said police assaulted her and pulled her hair, while in Jerusalem, a policeman at the site was recorded threatening to rape one arrested protester’s mother, ToI reported.

The opposition Labour Party condemned the assault on Lazimi, saying it “crosses a red line, is frightening and resembles totalitarian regimes”.


People attend a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and call for the release of captives in Gaza in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 29