Tens of thousands of Israelis protested outside the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem Saturday as summer-long demonstrations against PM Benjamin Netanyahu maintained their momentum. Three police officers were wounded and the police arrested 30 protesters "on suspicion of violating public order and assaulting police officers."
Thousands simultaneously protested in Tel Aviv, while hundreds gathered outside the prime minister's private home in the northern city of Caesarea.
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The protesters want the embattled Netanyahu to give up his post while he is on trial for corruption charges. The government's mishaps in handling the coronavirus crisis after relative success in its early stages has also fueled the demonstrations.
Saturday's protest comes ahead of Tuesday's deadline in which the coalition government must agree on a budget plan or trigger new elections that would be the fourth in just over a year.
Ignoring police suggestions for alternative routes, the protesters marched from several parts of Jerusalem through key roads trying to reach Netanyahu's residence on Balfour Street.
Outside the residence, they hoisted giant balloons depicting smeared heads of Netanyahu and his rival-turned-coalition partner Benny Gantz of the centrist Blue and White party, waved Israeli flags and the black flag of one of the grassroots protest movements.
Dozens of protesters clashed with police forces. Social media accounts livestreaming the demonstration, as well as the Twitter and Facebook accounts of several protesters, posted photos and videos of policemen pushing demonstrators to the ground and decrying "unwarranted police brutality."
Netanyahu has condemned the demonstrations against him, accusing protesters of trampling democracy and the Israeli media of encouraging them. He has argued that Israel's economy is better positioned than many developed countries hit by the global pandemic.
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