PM battles corruption claims amid mass rallies over his handling of Covid-19 crisis
Israeli police have clashed with protesters outside Benjamin Netanyahu’s house, as the embattled prime minister faces heightened criticism for alleged corruption and his government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Jerusalem municipal officials, accompanied by police, arrived outside the premier’s residence just before 6am local time (0400 BST) on Monday and began to dismantle tents of a protest camp that had been erected weeks ago by people calling for Netanyahu to resign.
Video footage showed city officials and police in masks removing banners while scuffling and arguing with people in the street.
Roi Peleg, a protester, accused authorities of excessive force and said a municipal worker accidentally cut him on the forehead with a knife while attempting to remove a banner.
“The inspectors trampled me and five others, and because of their brutal violence, we had to call two ambulances, and one man had to go to hospital,” Peleg told Kan, the public radio broadcaster.
“Throughout this time, as you can see in every video, we begged for explanations and were ignored.”
Jerusalem city hall said the municipality had removed the equipment because it “was placed without a permit and harms public order”.
A police spokesman said streets near the residence were cleared because of “complaints about noise filed by people living in the area … and sidewalks blocked continuously”.
Netanyahu is fighting three corruption allegations, including on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The prime minister has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, alleging he is the victim of a politically motivated witch-hunt.
On Monday, after the dismantling of the protest camp, the opposition leader, Yair Lapid, tweeted: “Netanyahu has lost public trust and with it the courage to face citizens who tell him the truth daily – that he’s failed.”
המאהל בבלפור פורק. נתניהו איבד את אמון הציבור ויחד עם זה את האומץ להתייצב מול אזרחים שאומרים לו כל יום את האמת – הוא נכשל. הוא ראש ממשלה לא לגיטימי.
— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) July 13, 2020
As well as anger over his corruption trial, Israel’s longest-serving leader faces fresh discontent as the country grapples with a surge of Covid-19 infections.
While Netanyahu’s government was initially praised for a swift lockdown in March that was credited with reducing daily infections to single digits, during the past week the number of confirmed cases has risen to well above 1,000 per day. Officials have attributed the surge to an overenthusiastic reopening of the country.
More than one in five Israelis are unemployed and, despite a £20bn aid package announced last week, many businesses say they will not survive the pandemic.
On Sunday, thousands demonstrated in downtown Tel Aviv against the government’s economic policies. Many complained that promised payouts to offset the financial fallout had not been distributed.
Two national television polls released on Sunday found Israelis were dissatisfied with the prime minister’s handling of the crisis. A Channel 13 survey said 75% of respondents were not satisfied by the economic response to the pandemic, while another poll by Kan found 85% were dissatisfied.
However, polls still show the ruling rightwing Likud party to be the most popular in the country, even if slightly fewer people would vote for it.
Source: The guardian
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