On Monday, thousands of Israelis continued their three-day protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's administration and called for fresh elections in the streets of Jerusalem.
As the sixth month of the Gaza War draws to a close, the protests have become more intense as public outrage over the government's treatment of the 134 Israeli hostages that Hamas has managed to hold in Gaza has grown.
"We're here to protest. To ask for having elections as soon as possible. We feel like we got it to the edge. We really need to get rid of Bibi," Jerusalem protester Timna Benn declared.
Last year, hundreds of thousands of people participated in weekly protests against plans to restructure the Supreme Court's powers, which they perceived as an assault on Israel's democratic foundations. These protests presented Netanyahu's right-wing coalition with some of the largest demonstrations in Israel's history.
Polls indicate that Netanyahu would lose the early elections, which he has consistently ruled out, claiming that voting in the midst of a conflict would only benefit Hamas.
He has promised to free the hostages and bring an end to Hamas, the Islamist organization that ruled Gaza. According to Hamas-run health authorities, Israel has been attacking Gaza for months, killing over 32,000 Palestinians.
However, since the Gaza crisis put the regular political procedures on hold for several months, Netanyahu has encountered a growing chorus of criticism.
Surveys indicate that most Israelis blame Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, for the security failures that led to the devastating attack by Hamas fighters on communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, in which around 1,200 were killed, according to Israeli tallies, and scores of hostages taken.
"They are not concerned about what happens in the country and with the people. They are concerned about maintaining their position in government. They work for themselves, not for the people. Simple as that," protester Refael Shakked-Gavish remarked.
To make matters more complicated, ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters have been targeting Netanyahu because they are upset that exemptions that shielded young people attending religious seminaries from mandatory military duty have been removed.
