The demonstrators in the big city of Tel Aviv on Saturday blocked an important road crossing as part of the protests against the government. A recurring demand was new elections and direct measures to free the hostages.
Demonstrators also gathered in Jerusalem, Haifa, Beer Sheva and Caesarea.
The demonstrations demanded, among other things, that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should leave his office and be replaced, reports the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
In addition, hundreds of protesters gathered outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem.
Fired tear gas
Police responded, among other things, by firing tear gas and using water cannons to disperse protesters in, among other places, Tel Aviv. Protesters in turn chose to light fires and block motorways with the help of trucks.
At the same time, Palestinian demonstrations were taking place in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Palestinians with Israeli citizenship gathered on Saturday to honor the victims of a deadly clash with the Israeli military in 1976 over the confiscation of land.
Protesters in Tel Aviv demand that the Israeli government release the hostages.
In clashes then, six people were killed, after Israeli police opened fire. Israel’s government later backed away from the land acquisition decision.
“Destroy our identity”
The demonstration in the city of Deir Hanna in the Galilee, which was led by Arab members of the Knesset parliament, turned into a demonstration against the war in Gaza.
– 48 years have passed, but still the death machine persists and the attempts to remove the residents – the attempt to annihilate our national identity continues, said the chairman of the city council Saeed Hussein, referring to the war in Gaza.
Jewish groups also participated in the demonstration in Deir Hanna, reports the AFP news agency.
“Jews and Arabs can live together,” read one of the banners.