Anger at Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government is roiling inside Israel, with thousands of protesters flooding the streets of the country on a weekly basis calling for his removal.
Many are angry with his failure to return captives taken and held by Hamas and other groups in Gaza.
Protesters’ demands have changed during the war on Gaza as discontent with Netanyahu’s government has grown.
Initially, protesters called for the release of Israeli captives. Then “nearly four months into the war,” there were protests saying the government was simply not doing enough.
Now, there are full-blown anti-government demonstrations. Protesters have been pushing for early elections and the removal of Netanyahu since late January.
However, Netanyahu continues to assert that military action in Gaza is the only way to release the captives rather than compromise in negotiations.
Netanyahu told a press conference, “Anyone who says I’m not doing everything I can to bring back the hostages is wrong and is misleading,” adding that “while Israel has flexed its positions in the [ceasefire] negotiations, Hamas hardens its positions.”
Meanwhile, Hamas says it would not release all of the remaining captives without Israel ending the war and “lifting the unjust siege” on Gaza. It also demands the release of hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Speaking with a news agency, a Hamas leadership source disclosed that Israel is still “intransigent” in talks to secure a truce in Gaza and an exchange of prisoners.
“The occupation rejects the ceasefire, the withdrawal from the Strip, the return of the displaced and a real exchange of prisoners,” the source said.
Netanyahu “still puts obstacles to an agreement and is not interested in the release of [the] Israeli hostages,” the source said, adding that he is “trying to buy time and absorb the anger of the captives’ families and show false interest in continuing negotiations.”
Calls For Early Elections
Former military chief of staff and member of Israel’s war cabinet, Benny Gantz called for national elections in September during a televised briefing.
“We must agree on a date for elections in September, towards a year to the war if you will,” Gantz said.
Gantz added, “Setting such a date will allow us to continue the military effort while signalling to the citizens of Israel that we will soon renew their trust in us.”
Gantz, is touted by his supporters as the person to replace Netanyahu.
It seemed that September is too far for others.
Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid posted on X that Israel cannot wait six months for elections.
Lapid added that citizens must replace “the worst, most dangerous and failed government in the country’s history,” after Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz called for elections to be held in September.
“This government needs to go home as soon as possible so that we can return the kidnapped, return the evacuees home, defeat Hamas and make sure that someone takes care of the Israeli middle class,” he stressed.
New polls are not supposed to take place until 2026.
Netanyahu has dismissed calls for early elections, which opinion polls suggest he would lose.
“The last thing we need right now are elections and dealing with elections, since it will immediately divide us,” he said at a press briefing in February, adding, “We need unity right now.”
In January, a survey conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute showed that only 15 percent of Israelis want Netanyahu to keep his job after the war on Gaza.
Twenty-three percent of respondents said that they would prefer Benny Gantz to become Prime Minister.
A recent poll by an Israeli channel showed that if elections were held now, Gantz’s National Unity Party would take 39 seats in the Knesset, compared with just 17 for Netanyahu’s Likud Party.
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