Thousands Fill Tel Aviv Streets in Final Anti-Netanyahu Rally
Thousands of demonstrators marched through Tel Aviv on Saturday from Rabin Square to Hostages Square, demanding government accountability and the release of captives just three days before a knife-edge general election. Israeli voters and opposition leaders converged on the mass gathering organized by the October Council to challenge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership in a vote widely framed as a national referendum.
Tight Polls and Security Incidents Mark Final Campaign Stretch
The demonstration drew participants from the families of victims and hostages taken on October 7, 2023, alongside the leaders of the four main opposition parties. Polling data published by public broadcaster KAN ahead of a mandatory gag period showed former military chief Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc leading with 52 projected seats against 50 for Netanyahu’s bloc in the 120-seat Israeli parliament. Security forces intervened during the weekend events, with Israeli police confirming the arrest of a suspect for assaulting the security team of a public figure, whom the Israeli press identified as former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
The protest caps years of civil campaigning demanding an independent state commission of inquiry into the security failures of October 7. Netanyahu’s government has declined to establish an independent investigative body, proposing instead a political commission whose members would be split between the ruling coalition and opposition lawmakers, a proposal opposition parties have vowed to boycott.
