More than 2,000 took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday night, protesting against the Israeli government and corruption, chanting "Bibi, go home," "shame," "corrupt officials, go home," "not left, not right, but honest." The principal portion of protesters gathered again at the central Rothschild Boulevard of the city for the fifth week in a row as part of anti-government corruption rallies across the country.
The protests raging in Israel are in the wake of the ongoing investigation into Netanyahu allegedly receiving expensive gifts from business circles to advance their interests and trying to reach a deal with the leadership of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, which reportedly agreed to cover the government's activities in a positive way in exchange for adoption of a law that would limit activities of the Israel Hayom newspaper — the main competitor of Yedioth Ahronoth.
So voll ist #TelAviv s #Rothschild Boulevard noch nicht mal am Yom Haatzmaut: #Demo gegen Bibi #Netanyahu — so viel Einigkeit war selten pic.twitter.com/ncV2S9u5VQ
— Lissy Kaufmann (@LissyKaufmann) 2 декабря 2017 г.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been questioned seven times already, despite repeatedly denying any wrongdoing, explaining that he's the victim of a smear campaign created by his political opponents.
Left protest culture in Berkeley in exchange for running into left/center protests against Netanyahu in Tel Aviv (~10k people following anti-Bibi far right protests weeks ago). Signs say “crime minister,” attack him & his wife w corruption accusations, etc pic.twitter.com/3FgOXNv6wL
— Danielle Miller (@dmillercal) 26 декабря 2017 г.
Local media echoes the stance, saying that the probe has failed to gather enough evidence to bring formal bribery charges against him.
READ MORE: Ex-Israeli Chief of Staff Becomes Witness in Corruption Cases Against Netanyahu
Additionally, Netanyahu may reportedly face charges over his alleged involvement in a multi-million dollar submarine deal with German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp.