“The whole country will stand still”
Mass protests against Netanyahu: Opposition threatens with general strike
Updated on 22.03.2025 – 9:49 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
In Tel Aviv, thousands protest against Benjamin Netanyahu. Among other things, it was about plans to dismiss the secret service chief.
In Tel Aviv, thousands of people demonstrated against the planned dismissal of the head of the domestic secret service Shin Bet and the resumption of the war in Gaza.
After the announcement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the previous head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, the protests began to withdraw office with effect from April 10. Bar has been at the head of the authority since 2021.
Netanyahu had said that he had lost confidence in cash. The project met with sharp criticism and led to several days of lasting demonstrations. The Supreme Court of Israel initially stopped dismissal by an injunction. While Netanyahu denies political motives, critics accuse him of undermining central democratic institutions through the deposition.
The opposition threatens with a general strike. Should Netanyahu ignore the suspension of the decision by the Supreme Court, “the whole country will stand still,” said opposition leader Jair Lapid on Saturday evening before tens of thousands of demonstrators in Tel Aviv. “The economy has to go on strike, the parliament has to go on strike, the courts have to go on strike, the authorities have to go on strike, and not only the universities, but also the schools,” said Lapid. The demonstrators raised signs with the demand for the end of the attacks in the Gaza Strip and demands for a return of the hostages to Israel.
Netanyahu, on the other hand, emphasized in a video message published in the evening: “Ronen Bar will not remain head of the Schin Bet. There will be no civil war, and Israel will remain a democratic state.”
At the same time, Israel resumed his military operations in the Gaza Strip this week. The fighting ended a ceasefire that had previously made the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners possible. With the re -war effort, the fate of 59 hostages also focuses on, of which up to 24 should still be alive. Demonstrating warned that return to military violence could endanger the prisoners – either by their kidnappers or by Israeli air strikes.
The Habima Square in Tel Aviv was at the center of the protests. There, demonstrators under Israeli flags called for an agreement to release the remaining hostages. Many members of the kidnapped also took part. The 44-year-old Erez Berman criticized the government: “We are one and a half years later after we fought very violently in Gaza, and Hamas is still in power. It still has tens of thousands of fighters. The Israeli government has not achieved its own goals in the war.”
The 63-year-old Moshe Haaharony was also outraged: “The most dangerous enemy of Israel is Benjamin Netanyahu. He has not been taking care of the country or the citizens for 20 years.”
The government, on the other hand, emphasizes that the military strategy is necessary to free the hostages. Netanyahu’s foreign policy advisor Ophir Falk said: “We will do everything we can to bring the hostages home.” Military pressure is crucial: “In November 2023, we freed over 80 hostages for just one reason – military pressure. The only reason why they came back to the negotiating table was military pressure. And that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
