Tens of thousands of Israelis again took to the streets on Sunday, protesting against the right-wing religious government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
During angry protests near parliament in Jerusalem, demonstrators called for the government to resign and urged a fresh election and a quick deal to release the hostages held by the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid sharply criticized Netanyahu at the demonstration.
The prime minister was doing “everything for politics, nothing for the country,” Lapid charged.
Netanyahu firmly rejected criticism of his conduct of the negotiations and calls for a new election.
“Calls for an election now, at the height of the war, a moment before victory, will paralyze Israel for at least six months, in my estimation even eight months,” he said on Sunday.