Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets again this Saturday to protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to demand an agreement for the release of the hostages detained in the Gaza Strip.

Once again, the largest anti-Netanyahu protests were in Tel Aviv, but there were also major protests in Haifa and Jerusalem, as well as in the southern cities of Beersheba and Mitzpe Ramon, according to the Israeli newspaper ‘The Times of Israel’.

In a separate rally, the Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square in a non-political protest to demand a deal with Hamas on the return of the hostages home.

In addition, there has been another rally in front of the headquarters of the Israeli Armed Forces in the same town under the slogan “Don’t let Netanyahu torpedo the agreement.”

“What separates us from our loved ones is Netanyahu’s insistence on not ending the war as part of the agreement,” denounced the daughter-in-law of dead hostage Yoram Metzger, Ayala Metzger. “Do not allow Netanyahu to torpedo an agreement again,” she appealed in a speech addressed to the military leadership.

Meanwhile, in northern Israel, hundreds of protesters have blocked traffic at the Amiad intersection of Route 90 after a demonstration from a nearby kibbutz. People who have participated blame Netanyahu for “abandoning the north, the south and everything in between.”

Police violence in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv

Israeli media have reported on different episodes where security forces have dispersed protests by force.

In Jerusalema police officer has threatened a protester saying: “Son of a bitch (…), I’m going to rape your mother”, during a protest near Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence. In a video posted on the social network

A police spokesman told Ynet, the media outlet that posted the clip, that the protester who was threatened was a “repeated troublemaker” and confirmed his arrest for “disturbing public order.”

However, he has condemned the behaviour of the police officer involved, claiming that His behavior “does not conform to the norms of discourse” and conduct that is expected of all police officers, even in such turbulent situations” and has assured that his actions at the scene of the crime “will be examined and treated accordingly.”

In Tel Aviv, opposition Labor MP Naama Lazimi has reported that “the police attacked her” while trying to disperse the demonstration. This is another police action that has been recorded on video and published on the social network X.

“They pulled my hair and strangled me, all while protesters shouted that I was a member of the Knesset. It’s scary to think what would have happened if there weren’t protesters around me. Brutal and harsh violence, and it could have been worse,” he said in statements collected by Ynet.