The weekend has been very turbulent in Israel for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces a sudden wave of protest. Several thousand demonstrators gathered on Saturday and then Sunday to protest against his management of the coronavirus epidemic and to demand his resignation.
The police intervened to disperse them last night using water cannons twelve people were arrested.
Yes, it is a spontaneous movement that began last week after big messes in the implementation of the government's deconfinement plan since the Israeli authorities had initially authorized the reopening of bars and restaurants at the entrance. during the summer, before suddenly reconsidering their decision in the face of an upsurge in the epidemic. This can also be understood to the extent that Israel really has to deal with a significant increase in contamination. It is now one of the countries where the virus is progressing the fastest.
But what the protesters blame Benjamin Netanyahu is for having imposed his decision without any consultation and without giving any explanations, while last month he claimed to have contained the spread of the disease and that he even tended to boast in the media about the success of its health policy. However, this reconfinement is not accompanied by any economic aid measure and is extremely costly for the already very weakened catering and tourism sector, whose companies have had to draw on their reserves to finance the reopening, when many of them will not survive a second shutdown.
But this restaurant movement is now joined by other sectors of the economy.
Yes, it has spread extremely quickly to become a social discontent movement like Israel had not seen for almost 25 years now. It affects the whole country since the police counted no less than 200 assembly points this weekend, even if the bulk of the protests were obviously concentrated in Tel Aviv or in front of the official residence of the Prime Minister in Jerusalem and his residence. private in the very chic seaside resort of Caesarea.
It must be said that the unemployment rate in Israel, which was 3.4% in February, jumped during confinement to today affect more than 20% of the population. So the government has promised exceptional aid to all its citizens but it only amounts to 750 shekels which is less than 200 euros is a misery.
While Benjamin Netanyahu is still entangled in a long legal process for corruption.
Absolutely, three cases of corruption, fraud and breach of trust, it is the essential spring of this mobilization, which is in fact a real crisis of confidence of an important part of the Israeli opinion in the functioning of its institutions. The handling of the Covid-19 epidemic was in fact just the trigger. The dissatisfaction that is expressed is much deeper, much older, it is a questioning of the way in which Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled the country without stopping since 2009.