Netanyahu accuses Israeli protesters of ‘joining forces’ with Iran, PLO

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Israelis protesting against his government’s judicial overhaul of “joining forces” with Iran and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).

Speaking to Israeli reporters ahead of his departure fog the U.S., Netanyahu said the protests movement is “unraveling all boundaries.”

“Whoever organises the protests does it with a lot of money and financially backed demonstrations. They have made it so that blocking roads is a normal thing, that refusal (to serve in the IDF reserve) is a normal thing, and they are defaming Israel before the world. It seems normal to them. I was the head of the opposition and I did not slander Israel in the world,” Netanyahu said.

“We are seeing people that are joining forces with the PLO, with Iran, and with others. Nothing surprises me anymore,” He added.

Netanyahu was criticised widely in Israel for inciting and making false claims about the protest movement. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid claimed there is no person who has “destroyed our image in the world more than Netanyahu in recent months.

“Nothing helps the Iranians more than the coup d’état of his government. His accusations against the patriots of the protest is more proof of the serious disruption to his judgment and understanding of reality,” he said.

Leader of the National Unity Party, Benny Gantz, also reacted to Netanyahu’s remarks, saying protestors are “patriots who love the country. The enormous damage Netanyahu is causing to Israeli society will not be solved even by a thousand fiery speeches at the UN,” Gantz added.

Journalists and pundits pointed to Netanyahu’s hypocrisy by sharing a video of him as leader of the opposition in 2021, calling on people around the world to “speak up” against Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government, claiming Israeli democracy was “under threat.”

Netanyahu is expected to be met by large numbers of protesters in New York during his speech at the UN General Assembly later this week. Earlier this week, a message reading “Don’t believe Crime Minister Netanyahu. Protect Israeli democracy,” was placated on the UN Headquarters building in New York.

Netanyahu will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, marking the first meeting between the two leaders since Netanyahu was re-elected last year.

The prime minister will also meet with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the UN.