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SvennoJ on 08 September 2024
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Israeli protests on the rise since October 7

An estimated 750,000 Israelis joined protests across Israel on Saturday night, with organisers saying 500,000 took to the streets in Tel Aviv alone.

Anti government protests have become an almost daily occurrence in Israel, as frustration grows at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to reach a deal to exchange captives with Hamas and end Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip.

According to data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), there have been an average of 113 protests across Israel per month since October last year.

Growing number of Israelis want war to end

We reported earlier that some 750,000 Israelis took to the streets to call on Netanyahu’s government to secure the release of the remaining captives held by Hamas in Gaza.

Libby Lenkinski, the vice president for public engagement at the New Israel Fund, says that increasing numbers of Israelis recognise that a lasting ceasefire is the only way that can be achieved.

“There were groups of protesters calling for a ceasefire as early as November and December [last year], and I think that number has been growing in a pretty steady way,” she told Al Jazeera in an interview from New York.

“I think the number has grown pretty dramatically in the past week, while an increasing number of Israelis who are protesting understand that a ceasefire is actually the only way that the hostages will come home. I think that’s now a pretty common understanding among protesters. You do see a rising number of Israelis wanting this to end whether they are in the streets or not.”



Mass protests in Israel unlikely to change Netanyahu’s stance

Commenting on Saturday’s protests in Israel, where an estimated 750,000 Israelis took to the streets to demand the government strike a deal to free remaining captives in Gaza, Libby Lenkiski, vice president of public engagement at the New Israel Fund, says “there isn’t much evidence to suggest these demonstrations will change Netanyahu’s approach”.

“There have been polls this week showing that Netanyahu favourability is down, and that if there were to be an election today, Netanyahu’s Likud would only be at 22 seats. Whereas [former Defence Minister] Benny Gantz’s party would be at 23,” Lenkiski said.

She added that while the protests might have an impact on Israeli society, they may not influence the strategy of the current government.

“The hostage deal does depend on the current leadership and it is hard to imagine them taking their que from these protests,” she said.

Qatar Red Crescent Society announces $4.5m in assistance for Palestinians

The Qatar Red Crescent and the UN agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) have signed an agreement with $4.5 million from a Qatari state development fund to aid more than 4,400 stranded Palestinian workers and patients from Gaza in the West Bank.