The anti-government protests gained momentum over the weekend, following a statement by some of the hostages' families that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is thwarting negotiations for a deal. Accordingly, Saturday and Sunday saw stormy demonstrations in front of the Knesset, on par with the anti-Netanyahu protests that occurred when Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was fired.
Maariv's political reporter Matan Wasserman referred to the protests in a conversation on 103FM: "We saw a very high presence of protesters who express pain over the situation, which they say is perhaps the worst situation the country has ever been in, along with a desire to make a change. It started already on Shabbat evening; we saw a coalescence of protests, between the hostage protests and the political protests.
Alongside that demonstration, a complex of hundreds of protest tents was set up in front of the Knesset. "They aspire to have a permanent presence in the Knesset," Wasserman said. "For the protesters, the goal is to reach elections."
'Hamas believes that the government of Netanyahu and the religious Zionists is the best for them'
Later, Moshe Redman, one of the leaders of the protest against the government, said on Ben Caspit and Yinon Magal's radio program that "The greatest gift to Hamas is [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's rule. Hamas does not want elections. Netanyahu built [Hamas], and it brought him billions.
"This paralysis that gripped us on October 7, among other things, because [the toxic government] fostered the illusion that taking to the streets would harm security, the war, the hostages – the one harming them is Netanyahu and his government.
"If this government does not disappear from the world, we could keep going here for another six months without the hostages being returned, without discussing the day after in Gaza, without solving the problems in the North. Netanyahu only cares about himself and an intolerable political blunder. The citizens voted with their feet and arrived, More than a hundred thousand people. 500 people slept here last night and stayed for the demonstration," he added.
Redman continued: "Hamas really believes that the government of Netanyahu and the religious Zionists is the best for them. Think if you were [Hamas chief Yahya] Sinwar now, you have a weak government in front of you, without public support, without international support – that's good for you.
"Will Netanyahu become a religious Zionist? No, he just depends on the zealots. Hamas wants Netanyahu. What has Al Jazeera been broadcasting for months and years? All products of the Netanyahu years: Tunnels, the strengthening of Hamas, kidnappers. What was Hamas before Netanyahu? Nothing, he made it, he built it," he concluded.