Clashes break out between Israeli protesters, police outside Knesset

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
20 Mar 2024 21:31
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Israeli settlers head to the Knesset and demand the resignation of lawmakers, calling for early elections.

Israeli police detain an Israeli protester who blocked an entrance to the Knesset, in occupied al-Quds, occupied Palestine, on March 20, 2024. (AP)

Dozens of Israeli protesters called for the dissolution of Benjamin Netnyahu's government and attempted to storm the Israeli Knesset on Wednesday, Israeli media outlets reported.

The Knesset Guard was called to the site of the protest in order to prevent settlers from entering the Israeli legislature hall. The families of captives held by the Palestinian Resistance in the Gaza Strip also blocked a highway in "Tel Aviv" adjacent to the Ministry of Security building, raising the following slogan: "After 166 days and night, the abducted are in hell."

Outside the Knesset in occupied al-Quds, dozens of activists from the Israeli Change Direction movement chained themselves to cars and blocked roads leading to the Israeli parliament, calling on lawmakers to set a date for early elections.

In an unusual manner, the activists attached their necks to the door handles of cars using bike locks.

Others attempted to storm the compound, as violent riots broke out in the area. The development led to clashes between protesters and Israeli riot police. An Israeli reporter and photojournalist working for the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth were attacked by Israeli police members, as they were covering the unfolding events.

Protesters had also handed Members of the Knesset "resignation letters" on behalf of Israelis, saying that the "government has failed and lost popular and international support."

Both the Israeli political and security elite have been mired in criticism, especially following the events of October 7, in which Israeli authorities failed to live up to the promise of protecting settlers in their colonial outposts.

At the top of the decision-making chain, Prime Minister Netanyahu and his far-right allies have been the target of criticism, which is intensifying by the hour due to the military's failure to meet the objectives of the war on Gaza. Most importantly, the issue of the prisoner exchange deal and the Israeli occupation's evasion of a final agreement has also angered the families of Israeli captives demanding the release of their relatives via a deal.

On the other hand, members of the Israeli cabinet and the Knesset continue to squabble over a wide array of issues, including military, recruitment, economic, and foreign policy, aggravating a clear schism in settler society.