Anti-government protests across Israel on Sunday put even more political pressure on embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose approval numbers among the Israeli public keep dropping and whose relationship with the Biden administration has reached an all-time low.
Israeli media reported that weekend demonstrations in Tel Aviv and elsewhere across Israel were some of the largest since Oct. 7, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a terrorist attack that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and resulted in the taking of about 250 hostages.
More than 100 of those hostages remain in the hands of Hamas and are believed to be being held in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been waging war on Hamas for nearly six months.
The fact that those hostages are still in Hamas‘ custody is fueling deep anger over Mr. Netanyahu, a divisive figure in Israel now in his third stint as the nation’s leader. The Times of Israel reported over the weekend that families of the Hamas hostages who had been holding their own weekly demonstrations in Tel Aviv said they now plan to join the much larger anti-government protests seen across the country.
That resulting scene, according to some reporters on the ground, was the largest public protest since Oct. 7.
“We will be in the streets … this is the moment where we turn off the lights,” said Eli Albag, father of Hamas hostage Liri Albag, according to the Times of Israel.
Israeli media said that tens of thousands of people joined the protests across Israel. In Tel Aviv, at least 16 people were arrested.
“Several hundred protesters violated public order, lit bonfires, shook a police car, blocked roads and confronted the police,” Israeli police said in a post on X.
Israeli media reported that the newest round of demonstrations is expected to last four days, with some protesters even planning to set up a tent city outside of the Knesset in Jerusalem.
Taking the blame
Mr. Netanyahu’s government reached a deal with Hamas last year that saw the terrorist group release more than 100 of the hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, and for a temporary pause in the fighting in Gaza.
But efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages have proven difficult, despite heavy pressure from the U.S. to reach an agreement.
Hamas has insisted on a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. Israel, meanwhile, is still eyeing a major military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where it says thousands of Hamas militants are holed up.
Family members of some of the hostages now blame Mr. Netanyau personally for the situation.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu, after you abandoned our families on Oct. 7, and after 176 days in which you didn’t achieve a deal [for their return], and because you are continually engaged in torpedoing a deal, we have realized that you are the obstacle to the deal. You are the obstacle,” Einav Zangauker, the mother of Hamas captive Matan Zangauker, said Saturday night in a speech in Jerusalem, according to Israeli media. “You are the one who stands between us and the return home of our loved ones.”
Mr. Netanyahu has pushed back on that narrative. During a meeting with families of the hostages last week, he said he’s doing everything he can.
“Just as we have returned 123 of our hostages as of today, I am committed to returning everyone, all of them. I will not leave anyone behind,” he said at the outset of that meeting, according to a statement from his office.
“I am personally dealing with this around the clock,” he said. “Only continuation of the forceful military pressure that we have applied, and will yet apply, will return our hostages, will return everyone.”
But data show that fewer Israelis support Mr. Netanyahu‘s handling of the situation. A survey by the Israel Democracy Institute conducted in March found that 57% of Israelis rate Mr. Netanyahu‘s performance since Oct. 7 as “poor” or “very poor.” That’s significantly lower than Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other top Israeli officials.
Political crossfire
Before the Oct. 7 attack, Mr. Netanyahu was already on shaky political ground, facing severe blowback for a controversial push to reform elements of the judicial system. Critics said he was trying to strip power from courts to undercut corruption charges against him. Among other things, the plan would have given the nation’s governing coalition power over judicial appointments.
Despite widespread opposition to the plan, Mr. Netanyahu survived politically. The prime minister returned to power in December 2022 after working behind the scenes to whip up opposition to former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and an eight-party governing alliance that was united almost entirely by its desire to push Mr. Netanyahu out of power. That alliance governed Israel briefly before it collapsed, paving the way for Mr. Netanyahu‘s return, which was supported by a broad coalition of right-wing and ultra-religious parties.
Mr. Netanyahu‘s political problems extend far beyond Israeli shores. He’s watched his relationship with the U.S. — or, at least with the Biden administration — reach an all-time low over the past several weeks. The deteriorating relationship was punctuated by two key events.
One of Mr. Netanyahu‘s key political rivals, former defense minister and Israeli “war Cabinet” member Benny Gantz, visited Washington and met with Biden administration officials despite public objections by Mr. Netanyahu.
The White House’s decision to embrace Mr. Gantz was widely viewed as a public rebuke of Mr. Netanyahu. The administration has grown increasingly frustrated with the prime minister’s handling of the war in Gaza, where critics say the civilian death toll is unacceptable.
Mr. Netanyahu maintains that the civilian suffering is the fault of Hamas.
But the White House says Mr. Netanyahu’s government must change course. Mr. Biden and other top administration officials have warned Israel against any assault on Rafah before Palestinians’ safety can be assured.
The U.S.-Israel rift over the looming Rafah operation, and the broader war in Gaza, came to a head at the United Nations last week.
In a key U.N. Security Council vote, the U.S. refused to block a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire to the war. It was a sharp change for the U.S., which has traditionally sided with Israel in almost all major U.N. votes and has often blocked resolutions condemning Israel.
Immediately afterwards, Mr. Netanyahu recalled an Israeli delegation to Washington, though that delegation’s visit has since been rescheduled, according to reports.