Carrying anti-war banners and chanting slogans against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hundreds of Israelis have rallied in Tel Aviv to protest the war with Iran, AFP reports.
Demonstrators gathered in a central square, holding signs that read: “Don’t bomb — talk! End the endless war!” despite restrictions on mass gatherings imposed during the conflict with Iran.
“Police are trying to silence our voice,” Alon-Lee Green, the co-director of Israeli-Palestinian grassroots group Standing Together, told AFP.
“We are here to demand an end to the war in Iran, the war in Lebanon, and the war in Gaza, which is still going on, as well as an end to the pogroms in the West Bank,” he added. “In Israel, there’s always a war. So, if we’re not allowed to demonstrate, we will never be allowed to speak.”
Protesters also voiced scepticism about the government’s justification for the war with Iran.
“I’m very suspicious of the reasons. I think the main reason is that Bibi wants to stop his trial,” said Cecile, 62, who gave only her first name, referring to Netanyahu with his nickname.
“The reasons for the war keep moving and changing all the time. We don’t know what will be considered a success or a failure, and we don’t know how long it’s gonna take,” she said.
