Thousands protest against Netanyahu over COVID-19, corruption allegations
Thousands of Israelis rallied outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem al-Quds on Saturday (August 8) as anger mounted over corruption allegations and his handling of the Coronavirus crisis.
The protest movement has intensified in recent weeks, with critics accusing Netanyahu of being distracted by a corruption case against him. He denies wrongdoing. Netanyahu, who was sworn in for a fifth term in May after a closely fought election, has accused the protesters of trampling democracy and the Israeli media of encouraging dissent.
Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party on Saturday called the protests "left-wing riots" and accused Israel's popular Channel 12 news of "doing everything it can to encourage the far-left demonstrations" of the premier's opponents. Protests have stretched beyond Netanyahu's official residence in Jerusalem al-Quds, with many Israelis gathering on bridges and highway junctions.
On a busy highway overpass north of Israel's commercial hub of Tel Aviv, demonstrators waved black flags and chanted slogans while cars honked their horns from the road below.
Israel in May lifted a partial lockdown that had flattened an infection curve. But a second surge of COVID-19 cases and ensuing restrictions have seen Netanyahu's approval ratings plunge to under 30%.
Many restrictions have since been lifted to revive business activity, but unemployment hovers at 21.5% and the economy is expected to contract 6% in 2020.
(Source: Reuters)
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