WEST BANK (Dispatches) – Thousands of people in the Israeli-occupied territories have taken to the streets to protest plans by Zionist prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new hardline regime.
The protesters gathered in the central city of Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, days after the most right-wing and conservative cabinet in the occupying regime’s 74-year history was sworn in.
“The settler regime is against me,” read one placard. Another banner read, “Housing, Livelihood, Hope.”
The protest was led by left-wing and Arab members of the regime’s parliament, the Knesset.
Participants held up a large banner reading “crime minister” -- a reference to head of the cabinet Netanyahu, who was indicted for receiving bribe, fraud, and breach of trust, during the twilight of his previous mandate as premier in 2019.
Other protesters brandished signs with slogans, including “Together against fascism and apartheid.”
In order to secure the loyalty and partnership of the extremist political parties, Netanyahu has pledged to further their desired agendas.
The 73-year-old has already released a policy statement on the part of his cabinet, calling expansion of the regime’s illegal settlements across the occupied Palestinian territories a top priority.
Earlier this week, the regime’s new minister of judiciary affairs Yariv Levin also announced a reform program, including a “derogation clause” that allows Knesset to override the decisions that are made by the so-called supreme court.
The protesters denounced the so-called reforms as a vehicle for Netanyahu to circumvent the repercussions of his corruption scandal.
“Extremists are starting to deploy their forces and it’s not the majority,” said one demonstrator.
The anti-Netanyahu Black Flag movement has also described Levin’s reforms as a “dangerous coup d’état,” asserting that the measures “will fail.”
Meanwhile, a human rights advocacy group issued a report, asserting that the new far-right Zionist cabinet will consolidate occupation, racism and discrimination against Palestinians.
The warning came from the Mossawa Center, which campaigns for Palestinians who live in the 1948-occupied territories.