Politics Thousands march in protest against Israeli government
Thousands of people have taken part in a march towards Jerusalem in protest against the policies of the right-wing religious government in Israel.
19.03.2025, 10:34
SDA
A central highway leading into the city was closed because of the march. The demonstrators were protesting against the announced dismissal of the head of domestic intelligence and the restart of the Gaza war. They wanted to march in front of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's official residence in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu had announced the dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar on Sunday evening. He cited a "lack of trust" in the head of the secret service as the reason. He wants to have the decision approved by the government this week.
Relations between the two have long been considered strained. In an investigation by the domestic intelligence service into the mistakes that made the Hamas massacre on 7 October 2023 possible, Netanyahu's policies were also recently criticized. In addition, Shin Bet is investigating alleged illegal relationships between Netanyahu's confidants and Qatar.
According to the Times of Israel, physics professor Shikma Bressler, who was already a figurehead of the protests against the controversial restructuring of the judiciary in the country, said: "It's time we put an end to this madness before we have nothing left to save, before we have no country left." The demonstrators waved blue and white national flags as well as flags in yellow to commemorate the fate of the Hamas hostages.
