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Thousands gathered in Tel Aviv late on Oct. 24 for a large anti-government demonstration, three days ahead of a general election widely viewed as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The protest was organized by the October Council, a group founded by the families of victims and hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, to demand accountability for the failure to prevent the attack that sparked the Gaza war.
According to Israeli media, the gathering saw the participation of the leaders of the four main opposition parties, including Gadi Eisenkot, the former military chief of staff who is neck and neck with
Netanyahu and who received a warm reception from the crowd.
“Three days before the election, we will hold the culminating event marking three years of struggle to uncover the truth, demand accountability, and establish a state commission of inquiry,” the October Council wrote on X ahead of the rally.
The latest polls published before a gag period entered into force on Oct. 23 night showed that neither bloc would obtain a majority of seats in Israel’s parliament.
A poll published by public broadcaster KAN found that out of 120 seats in the Israeli parliament, 52 would go to Eisenkot’s bloc and 50 to Netanyahu’s, with the rest going to non-aligned parties, including Arab ones.
Thousands were marching from the central Rabin Square towards Hostages Square, a focal point for past anti-government protests to demand the release of those held captive in Gaza.
“Whoever has been leading us for the past four years since Netanyahu’s government took office in late 2022] has done such a terrible job,” Hadas Feuershtein, 68, told AFP shortly before the start of the rally.
“Israel has never been in a situation as it is now,” she added.
Meanwhile, Israel said on Oct. 25 all land crossings with the occupied West Bank will be closed on the day of next week’s election, as it pledged a harder line on militancy after Palestinian gunmen killed two soldiers in the territory.
