Hundreds protest unity deal, chant ‘Bibi, Mofaz, go home’
Former opposition leader Livni: People can’t take it anymore; three arrested in Tel Aviv
More than a thousand people took to the streets of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Beersheba on Tuesday evening to protest the formation of a national unity government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz.
“You deserve politics of principles and not of [Knesset] seats,” said former Kadima leader Tzipi Livni, who lent her support to the Tel Aviv protest.
Other MKs, including Isaac Herzog (Labor), Nitzan Horovitz (Meretz), and Avishay Braverman (Labor), also made appearances at the Tel Aviv rally, which took place near Habima Theater, the same location of last year’s social justice demonstrations. In Jerusalem, protesters marched through Ben Yehuda street in the center of the city.
People chanted: “The entire nation is the opposition,” “Bibi and Mofaz, go home,” and also, “Overturn the government.” Others carried signs calling Netanyahu and Mofaz liars.
Three people, including two journalists, were arrested at the demonstrations in Tel Aviv, which police said had proceeded without a permit.
Livni, who resigned from politics last week after Mofaz defeated her for the position of Kadima head, said: “Sometimes a big shock is needed to cause people to take to the streets… The people cannot take it anymore.”
Large scale social protests are expected in cities throughout Israel on Saturday, May 12. The main demonstration is scheduled to take place in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, with simultaneous rallies planned for Jerusalem, Haifa, Beersheba, Kiryat Shmona, Nahariya, Eilat and Pardes Hannah.
