Thousands take to Tel Aviv's streets for protests against Netanyahu

Thousands gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday for a large anti-government demonstration, three days ahead of a general election that is widely viewed as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The protest was organised by the October Council, a group founded by the families of victims and hostages taken by Palestinian militants on October 7, 2023, to demand accountability for the failure to prevent that day's Hamas attack that sparked the Gaza war.

"Three days before the election, we will hold the culminating event marking three years of struggle to uncover the truth, demand accountability, and establish a state commission of inquiry," the October Council wrote on X ahead of the rally. 

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The protest is also expected to see the participation of leading figures from opposition parties.

Opinion polls have shown a tight race, with Netanyahu's right-wing bloc, in power since late 2022, neck and neck with that of his main centre-right rival Gadi Eisenkot.

The latest polls published before a gag period entered into force on Friday night showed that neither bloc would obtain a majority of seats in Israel's parliament. 

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 An AFP reporter said thousands were marching from the central Rabin Square towards Hostages Square, the location of the rally, a focal point for past anti-government protests to demand the release of those held captive in Gaza.

"Whoever has been leading us for the past four years has done such a terrible job," Hadas Feuershtein, 68, told AFP shortly before the start of the rally.

"Israel has never been in a situation as it is now," she added.

The October Council alerted law enforcement of possible "provocations" from pro-government agitators.

"We have sent an urgent letter to the Police Commissioner following alerts about attempts by entities linked to the coalition to disrupt tonight's rally," the October Council wrote on X.

The rally comes after years of campaigning by Israeli civil society and opposition parties to establish an independent commission of inquiry on the security failures that led to October 7.

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Netanyahu's government has refused to establish such an independent body, the likes of which Israel has commonly set up in the past to investigate major state-level failings.

It has instead offered to create a "political" commission, half of whose members would be appointed by the ruling coalition and half by opposition lawmakers.

Opposition leaders have said they would boycott a commission appointed by politicians.