From the Liveblog of
Saturday, June 1, 2024
Anti-government, pro-hostage-deal protesters flood streets of Tel Aviv; organizers claim 120,000 at largest protest since Oct. 7
Anti-government protesters are demonstrating in Tel Aviv, calling for Israel to press ahead with a deal to release hostages held by the terror group Hamas, as well as for the ouster of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and early elections.
Attendees of Saturday’s protest estimate it is the largest since October 7, with protest organizers claiming that 120,000 demonstrators have gathered in Tel Aviv, a figure that cannot be independently verified.
Protests are taking place in numerous other locations across the country.
Among those addressing demonstrators on Begin Street in Tel Aviv is Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker. Together with relatives families of several other hostages, she warned earlier this evening that Netanyahu might torpedo the possible deal — referring to an Israeli proposal publicly detailed last night by US President Joe Biden. “[Biden] spoke because he knows that Netanyahu may torpedo this deal as well,” she said. “Biden wanted the public to know what was really on the table.”
Protests at the intersection of Begin Road and Kaplan Street, dubbed Democracy Square, have been held every Saturday night since the anti-judicial overhaul movement began in January of last year, except for a few-months-long hiatus following the Hamas terror onslaught on October 7, in which terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 252.
