“All rats in the Knesset”: Mass protests against the war in Israel | News on the Israel-Palestine conflict

An estimated 150,000 people took part in the rally, one of the largest demonstrations since the start of the Israeli war against Gaza.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators waved Israeli flags and chanted slogans against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding new elections and the return of prisoners held in Gaza.

The Israeli city has seen large weekly protests against Netanyahu’s handling of the nearly nine-month war in the Gaza Strip, which was triggered by Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7.

Many protesters held signs reading “Crime Minister” and “Stop the War” as people streamed onto the main thoroughfare of Israel’s largest city.

“I’m here because I’m afraid for my grandchild’s future. There will be no future for them if we don’t go and get rid of this terrible government,” said 66-year-old construction contractor Shai Erel. “All these rats in the Knesset… I wouldn’t put any of them in charge of a kindergarten.”

The anti-government protest organization Hofshi Israel estimated that more than 150,000 people attended the rally, calling it the largest since Israel’s war on Gaza.

Some demonstrators lay on the ground in the city’s Democracy Square covered in red paint to protest what they believe is the death of the country’s democracy under Netanyahu.

Addressing the crowd, former head of Israel’s domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet, Yuval Diskin, condemned Netanyahu as Israel’s “worst prime minister.”

Many are frustrated with the country’s right-wing coalition, which includes Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and other far-right ultranationalists, accusing it of prolonging the war in Gaza and endangering the country’s security and prisoners.

Yoram, a 50-year-old tour guide who did not want to give his last name, said he attends every weekly protest because Israel needs elections “yesterday” because of Netanyahu.

“I really hope the government collapses. If we go back to the original election date of 2026, it will not be a democratic election.”

Thousands of relatives and supporters of the prisoners attended a separate rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening.