Small protests were held in several locations across Israel on Saturday against the Israel Defense Forces’ ongoing operation against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group in Gaza, launched a day earlier.
The Ynet news site reported that several protesters in Haifa waved Palestinian flags and called to “continue the way of Jabari,” referencing PIJ senior commander Tayseer Jabari, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday that opened Operation Breaking Dawn.
Police placed themselves between the pro-Palestinian demonstrators and a group of individuals who arrived waving Israeli flags.
Ayman Odeh, chair of the Arab Joint List party, spoke to Hebrew media outlets at the protest, and called for an end to the “cycle of horror” and for “real negotiations to end the occupation, founding a Palestinian state alongside Israel and a just peace.”
Protestors brandishing Palestinian flags and placards with anti-war slogans were also seen at other locations, among them near the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv and the northern Arab city of Umm al-Fahm.
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The military launched Operation Breaking Dawn with airstrikes in Gaza on Friday afternoon in response to what officials said was an ongoing “concrete” threat by PIJ to target Israeli civilians and soldiers.
A missile from the Iron Dome air defense system is launched in southern Israel, on August 6, 2022. (Jack Guez/AFP)
Islamic Jihad then began to fire relentless barrages of rockets at Israeli communities in southern and central Israel, with the rocket fire continuing into Saturday night.
The government drew support from members of the right-wing opposition for the operation, including from the Religion Zionism and Likud parties.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
