Israelis Return to the Streets to Protest ‘Destructive’ Gantz-Netanyahu Unity Deal

Some 2,000 Israelis took to Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square on Saturday to protest a unity government deal that leaves Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in power, as he prepares to go on trial for three corruption cases.

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Corona keeps Bibi in power and unmasks the MossadHaaretz

The so-called 'Black Flag' protesters maintained a distance from one another, in a bid to comply with the Health Ministry’s coronavirus restrictions. They waved Israeli flags and black flags, and held signs calling out Netanyahu for corruption and telling him and other corrupt politicians to “go home.”

The protesters oppose having Netanyahu as prime minister as long as he is a criminal suspect. The protesters say the unity agreement between Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, which gives Netanyahu influence over the appointment of judges and legal officials, “crushes democracy” and is meant to rescue him from his legal troubles.

A man stand with a face mask with the Israeli flag on it, at the latest ‘Black Flag’ protest, Tel Aviv, April 25, 2020Tomer Appelbaum

A similar, yet much smaller protest, was held in the northern town of Kiryat Tivon, with the participation of about 200 peopole.

A the Tel Aviv protest, former Shin Bet head Carmi Gillon spoke, charging Netanyahu with “destroying Israel’s Knesset.” According to Gilon, the agreement hands parliamentary authority “over to a 52-member government. The Supreme Court is the only thing left to defend Israeli democracy before it is finally crushed.”