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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
❗️ Thousands of Israelis took to the streets against Netanyahu ahead of the elections: the prime minister is accused of security failures and demanded to be held accountable
Three days before Israel’s parliamentary elections, a large anti-government demonstration was held against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Thousands of people marched through the streets of Tel Aviv, demanding an independent investigation into failures in the national security system that allowed Hamas militants to attack the country 7 October 2023.
According to AFP, the protest took place on 24 October, ahead of the general Knesset elections scheduled for 27 October. Many Israelis view the upcoming vote as a kind of referendum on confidence in the incumbent prime minister and his government.
The demonstration was organized by the “October Council” — an association of families of the deceased and people who were taken hostage by Hamas militants during the attack on 7 October 2023. Members of the organization have been seeking for several years to identify those responsible for the state structures’ failure to prevent the large-scale incursion.
Thousands of protesters marched along central Tel Aviv streets from Yitzhak Rabin Square to the so-called Hostages’ Square by the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. Since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, that location has become one of the main centers of anti-government rallies and demonstrations demanding the release of Israeli hostages.
The protesters’ main demand is the creation of an independent state investigative commission to determine the causes of the failure of Israeli intelligence and security forces and to establish the responsibility of officials for the events of 7 October 2023.
At that time, Hamas militants carried out a large-scale attack on Israel, beginning with rocket fire and incursions into the country. About 1200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack, and 251 person was taken hostage. These events marked the beginning of a large-scale war in the Gaza Strip.
The October Council emphasized that the pre-election demonstration was the culmination of a three-year struggle by the victims’ families to establish the truth, hold the guilty to account, and conduct an independent state investigation.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s government continues to refuse to create the independent state commission demanded by the families of the deceased, civic organizations, and opposition politicians. Instead, the authorities proposed forming a special body with equal representation of members appointed by the ruling coalition and the opposition. Opposition forces rejected this proposal, stating that the investigation should not depend on politicians whose decisions and actions could themselves be subject to scrutiny.
Protesters openly criticized the activities of Netanyahu’s government, which has been in power since the end of 2022. Mass protests are taking place against the backdrop of the final days of the campaign, the outcome of which remains uncertain.
The latest released sociological polls show that no political bloc has a guaranteed majority of seats in the new Knesset. These studies were published before a ban on publishing pre-election ratings took effect, which began on the night before Saturday.
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