Several dozen protesters arrived at the Ben-Gurion airport late on Sunday to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's departure to the US, where he is set to meet foreign ministers of Bahrain and the UAE to sign peace accords with the two countries. The demonstrators sought to prevent Netanyahu's car from reaching the airstrip by blocking the roads to the terminal with their cars, while holding Israeli flags and chanting "we stay at home and so do you".
The protesters gathered in the wake of Israeli cabinet announcing the renewal of lockdown measures, which will force families to stay within 500 metres of their homes for at least three weeks starting on 18 September in a bid to stop rising numbers of COVID-19 infections. Even though Netanyahu's departure precedes the start of the lockdown and his trip is devoted to solidifying the country's major diplomatic victories, the demonstrators gathered at the airport in a bid to stop the prime minister's departure.
At least some of the attendees gathered near the airport terminal not only over the looming quarantine, but over criminal charges that Netanyahu has been facing since November 2019. They had a different message for the departing Netanyahu on their placards: "Bon Voyage! Don't come back!"
Some of the protesters brought along a water tank decorated to look like a submarine in an apparent reference to so-called Case 3000, over which, however, Netanyahu had never been indicted. Under Case 3000, the prime minister is suspected of lobbying the Defence Ministry to buy submarines and corvettes for the country from a certain German shipbuilder, purportedly for the personal profits of other people, namely his cousin and lawyer David Shimron.
Netanyahu himself denies allegations made over not only Case 3000, but also three other cases under which he had been charged with fraud, breach of trust and bribery. He is currently fighting the accusations in court, with his residence and court building being regularly surrounded by protesters demanding his conviction and incarceration.