Thousands of Israelis gathered on Saturday for a new large-scale demonstration against the government and Netanyahu.
The protests have become a regular feature on Saturdays in the city, but Israeli media report a much larger turnout than usual.
Not a Civil War
The demonstrators are demanding that the government reach an agreement with the Islamist extremist group Hamas on hostages in Gaza – and also that Netanyahu not dismiss Ronen Bar, the head of the country's internal security service Shin Bet.
If the government decides not to comply with the Supreme Court's ruling (not to dismiss Bar), it is acting outside the law, said opposition leader Yair Lapid in a speech to the demonstrators.
If that happens, the whole country must come to a standstill. The only thing that must not come to a standstill is the security system, he says, calling for a general strike.
Netanyahu responded to the criticism in a recorded speech, saying that Israel remains a democracy despite his desire to fire Ronen Bar.
It would not mean that there will be a civil war. Israel will remain a democratic nation, he says.
We are a state of law and the State of Israel's laws state that the government has the right to dismiss the head of Shin Bet.
Meeting in the Security Cabinet
The Prime Minister is participating in a meeting of the security cabinet on Saturday evening, where continued talks with Hamas and the operation in Gaza are on the agenda, reports Haaretz.
The meeting was supposed to take place on Thursday, but was postponed so that the government could vote to dismiss Ronen Bar.
But since the decision was temporarily blocked by the country's Supreme Court on Friday, Bar is participating in Saturday's meeting – despite Netanyahu's statements that he lacks confidence in the security chief.
