Sunday is the first day of the working week in Israel – but the upcoming Sunday August 17 promises to be a day of strikes and demonstrations. There’s a groundswell of public opposition to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promised all-out offensive against Gaza city as well as a growing sense of desperation at the plight of the remaining hostages.
The question is how will these actions on the streets translate into a coherent political alternative to Netanyahu in Knesset elections? The next election must take place by October 2026 – but it might well happen sooner.
Netanyahu has presided over the most right-wing government in the country’s history. During his current term from October 2022, mass protests have been a feature of Israeli society. Initially they were against the government’s attack on the powers of the supreme court, which many saw as a more general attack on democracy.
