Organisers on Tuesday said that thousands of Israelis would attend a night rally in Tel Aviv in support of embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Guy Levy, the joint Protest Headquarters spokesman told dpa that they expected 3,000 people and had received a police permit for that number, but the feeling on the ground was that 10 times as many would attend.
The rally titled `Protect the country, Stop the coup’ comes as Netanyahu fights for his political survival.
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit had earlier announced that the country’s longest-serving prime minister would be indicted on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
The attorney general said that Netanyahu was under no legal obligation to resign as the head of a transition government.
Mandelblit said that Netanyahu should remove himself from the process of trying to form a new government.
The pressure on Netanyahu is compounded over his failure to form a government after two inconclusive elections in 2019, leaving Israel in a state of political paralysis.
Israel is speeding toward an increasingly likely third election in one year, with a Dec. 11 deadline, by which its 120-seat parliament would have to dissolve itself, fast approaching.
Never before has a sitting Israeli prime minister been indicted on corruption charges, putting the country in uncharted territory.
So far, few ministers or lawmakers from Netanyahu’s Likud party have openly expressed support for fellow party member Gideon Saar, who is seeking to challenge Netanyahu for the post of party leader.
Should Netanyahu be replaced, the new Likud leader would be the party’s candidate in the election.
