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Anti-Netanyahu groups stage ‘neighborhood protests’

Following restrictions on demonstrations, anti-Netanyahu groups are now staging “neighborhood protests’’ across the country.
Israeli protesters sit on the ground during a demonstration against the Israeli prime minister and against the second nationwide lockdown imposed by the government in a bid to stem the increase of COVID-19 coronavirus cases, in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, on October 1, 2020. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

About 1,000 demonstrations took place the night of Oct. 1 across Israel. At Tel Aviv’s HaBima Square there were around 3,000 demonstrators who protested against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; the other gatherings were much smaller. Unlike the local demonstrations, the rather large Tel Aviv protest was dubbed a spontaneous demonstration with no specific groups claiming responsibility for organizing it.

These protests were held as the Knesset approved government emergency measures banning Israelis from traveling over 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) from their homes to attend a protest, and limiting outdoor gatherings to a maximum of 20 people per group. Israel entered a nationwide lockdown on the eve of the Jewish New Year on Sept. 18, but the continued rise in coronavirus cases has prompt greater restrictions on movement and gathering.

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