Thousands of Israelis Protest Against Netanyahu in Jerusalem

Thousands gathered in Jerusalem this Sunday to protest against the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to call for early elections in the country and an agreement to release hostages.

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"If you can’t bring them back, step aside, leave. We need someone in his place who can," said Hanna Katzir’s daughter, one of the hostages released during the seven-day truce agreed between Israel and Hamas last November.

For the first time, the anti-government protests were joined by relatives of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas in the Gaza Strip on 7 October during the Al-Qaeda operationAqsa, who called for an agreement to facilitate the release of the 130 captives still in the enclave.

"Netanyahu does not want the hostages to return home because he knows that in that case he would have to face pending trials and can go to jail. For this reason, it is prolonging this war so much," Maya Gal, 70, told the Spanish agency EFE, which participated in the march against the government this Sunday.

According to this Israeli citizen, Netanyahu "does not care about the soldiers or the hostages, only their political interests".

The protest brought together various Israeli movements and groups to demand the resignation of the president.Dozens of soldiers in the Army reserve gathered in the ultra-orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim to call for recruiting yeshiva students. For decades, ultra-orthodox youth have avoided military recruitment by enrolling in Torah study colleges and annual extensions, but a government provision that expires forces many to enlist starting next Monday.

Netanyahu's current government coalition depends on the support of ultra-orthodox parties, which oppose conscription and could topple the government if implemented. The Israeli Attorney General has urged the Ministries of Defence and Education to begin work on the recruitment plan for the ultra-orthodox starting tomorrow.

According to figures released this Sunday by the Palestinian health authorities, some 32,800 people have died since the start of the war on 7 October, more than 70% of them women and children, and some thirty children have died of acute malnutrition, according to Gazan health data, in the face of the imminent famine in the Gaza Strip.