From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 22, 2024
Dozens protest outside Knesset, call for elections
Dozens of protesters gather outside the Knesset calling for new elections.
Mor Shamgar, who is leading the crowd in fiery chanting against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the government, says she voted Likud until Netanyahu rose to power within the party.
“I left in 1999 when I realized who Netanyahu is… He is only concerned for himself,” she says.
“If Yair Netanyahu were to go help clean up in Be’eri, or if Avner Netanyahu went to Kfar Aza to help pick fruits and vegetables, then I would know that our prime minister is true to his word,” she says referring to Netanyahu’s two sons. “Until then he’s not worthy.”
The protesters are calling the coalition parties in power “traitors who have given up on the hostages.”
Outgoing Labor party chairwoman Merav Michaeli came out to demonstrate along with the anti-Netanyahu protesters in order to “move this government.”
“The return of the hostages is not a question, it is the number one obligation of this government. The hostages were abandoned and kidnapped on its watch, and so it has to do everything to return them,” she says.
