Thousands blocking Tel Aviv highway to protest ‘traitor’ Netanyahu

Thousands of people block Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway, central Israel’s main traffic artery, in a spontaneous demonstration sparked by the ouster of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Protesters have stopped traffic in both directions, lit numerous bonfires and erected makeshift roadblocks with what appears to be uprooted road signs and abandoned construction materials.

Few police officers are on site. The spontaneous nature of the demonstrations means that police had not blocked the entrances to the thoroughfare with trucks, as they usually do for the weekly Saturday night protests.

While it’s unclear how many people are here, the number of protesters easily passes 2,000 — the upper limit for public events in Tel Aviv due to IDF Home Front restrictions amid the rocket fire from Lebanon.

Protesters on the Ayalon urge those standing overhead, on Kaplan Street, to join in blocking the highway.

The Ayalon is awash in Israeli flags, as well as pictures of hostages and yellow flags signifying solidarity with the hostages. One protester hoists flags of both Israel and North Korea — apparently accusing the government of a descent to dictatorship.

Referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, protesters around one of the bonfires chant: “He’s a traitor!” “How much more blood will be spilled until the accused [of corruption] leaves?”

They also rehash the mantra of the 2023 mass protests against the government’s judicial overhaul: “Democracy or revolution!”