pro-Netanyahu counter-protest
pro-Netanyahu counter-protestצילום: רן כרמי בוזגלו

Over 1,000 demonstrators protested outside the Prime Minister's Residence Thursday night, while several dozen pro-Netanyahu demonstrators held a counter-protest nearby.

The activists who arrived in the early evening hours first began a mass meditation that they said was meant to "produce good vibes for protest," and later began a demonstration.

Police were deployed in larger numbers in an effort to prevent violence as had broken out at previous demonstrations.

The demonstrators repeated the cries of "we are the majority, we have come out to the street", "bribery, fraud, breach of trust" and "wealth, government, underworld". Many of the speakers accused Netanyahu of spreading free hatred, division and incitement, shortly after the fast of Tisha B'Av. Despite the increased police preparations, the demonstration had fewer protesters than were at previous protests - and apparently protest organizers are preparing for a Saturday night demonstration, which is expected to be attended by many thousands of people.

Roi, a strategic consultant from Tel Aviv, said that this was the third time he had demonstrated in Balfour. "I am here to express the outcry against the governmental corruption and incitement of Netanyahu and his entourage. I came to fulfill my civic duty. While the basic contract between citizens and the state is violated, we as citizens must take to the streets. All of us, left and right. We need leadership that will unite us instead of dividing us inciting, and will serve us and not itself."

Members of the "La Familia" organization gathered around ​​the First Railway Station in Jerusalem following the end of the fast of Tisha B'Av to stage a counter-protest. According to the organization, "Israel's troublemakers continue to despise any Jewish symbol. We will not remain indifferent and sit quietly with the state crumbling before our eyes. We have no interest in politics, we have interest only in confronting the extremist anarchists who have crossed the border, and we will not give up."