Anti-government protesters block traffic on Tel Aviv’s Begin Street, call on drivers to join rally

Anti-government, pro-hostage deal protesters begin intermittently blocking traffic on Tel Aviv’s Begin Street, in front of the IDF headquarters.

They call on drivers to join the “struggle for the soul of this country.” Some drivers exit their cars to join the protesters, while others appear somewhat irked.

“We won’t agree to a government of abandoners,” the protesters chant.

The roadblocks last a few minutes, after which protesters let traffic through.

This is the third day in the second straight week of daily protests on Begin Street. The protests began after the army announced last Sunday that it recovered six recently slain hostages.

About 150 protesters are currently gathered outside the IDF headquarters. Previous daily protests have drawn closer to 2,000.

Nearby, in Hostages Square, hostage families will hold a public singing event, which is set to feature Elhanan Danino, father of Ori Danino, one of the six executed hostages whose bodies were recovered last weekend.

The elder Danino has drawn attention in recent days after footage emerged of him harshly criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his failure to bring the hostages home.