Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing pressure within the country as thousands of people protested against his government Saturday.
Thousands of Israelis marched on the streets of various cities against the policies of Netanyahu's right-wing religious government.
At a large rally in the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, a central street was blocked off, the news website ynet reported.
Many demonstrators called for new elections. Others spoke out in favor of a cease-fire in the Gaza war and a swift deal with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas for the release of further hostages.
Protests also took place near Netanyahu's villa in Caesarea.
The police announced that the demonstration in Tel Aviv had not been authorized. Some demonstrators blocked a road in both directions and lit flares.
Netanyahu has seen his popularity plummet in opinion polls since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that sparked the devastating war in Gaza.
Anti-government protests that shook the country for much of 2023 have largely subsided during the war. Still, demonstrators again took to the streets of Tel Aviv Saturday night calling for new elections, which are not scheduled until 2026.
The crowd was much smaller than last year's mass protests, numbering a few thousand, according to local media.
"I'd like to say to the government that you've had your time, you ruined everything that you can ruin. Now is the time for the people to correct all the things, all the bad things that you've done," said one protestor, his head wrapped in an Israeli flag.
Netanyahu was asked at a press briefing about calls within his own ruling Likud party to hold early elections right when the Gaza war ends.
"The last thing we need right now are elections and dealing with elections since it will immediately divide us," he said. "We need unity right now."
However, dark clouds were hovering over Netanyahu's political future well before Oct. 7.
Experts and critics contend that the premier's plan to weaken the Supreme Court and ensure less judicial oversight of politicians' policymaking is solely an attempt to protect himself from ongoing cases of fraud, bribery and breach of trust.
Now, months into Israel's deadly assault on Gaza, Netanyahu seems more adamant to do anything to save his skin, as the hovering clouds have become darker than ever.
Experts believe that, at the moment, Netanyahu's political career is simply hinging on support from his current allies.
For analyst Yossi Mekelberg, Netanyahu can only stay in power as long as he has a majority in the Knesset, where he is currently leading a coalition that analysts and critics have described as the most far-right one in Israel's history.
One of the possibilities is that "a few members of the coalition will withdraw their support and call for an election, or form a different coalition within the current Knesset," Mekelberg, associate fellow at Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa Program, told Anadolu Agency.
Israeli academic Neve Gordon believes Netanyahu's political future remains "uncertain" for now, but there are many forces that would like him to step down.
As long as Netanyahu's War Cabinet remains intact, the better are his chances of survival, he said.
The War Cabinet formed after the launch of Israel's offensive in Gaza includes Benny Gantz, the former military chief of staff and head of the National Unity party, and Gadi Eisenkot, a retired senior general.
Referring to them, Gordon, a professor of international law and human rights at Queen Mary University of London, said: "I think that so long as they continue to sit in the war Cabinet, his government is secure."
If these two decide to resign, it is unclear whether Gantz's party will stand with Netanyahu's Likud or vote against him, he added.
Neither Mekelberg nor Gordon believes that Netanyahu will resign voluntarily.
"The most unlikely possibility, knowing a little bit about Netanyahu, is that he is going to do the dignified thing and resign," said Mekelberg.
About the premier being forced out of office, he said that could most likely be in "a matter of months."
Netanyahu has very little support among the electorate in Israel, he added.
"Right now, he is not seen ... as a kind of a leader that can lead a democracy, let alone someone that fashioned himself as Mr. Security," said Mekelberg.
However, he said Netanyahu has been a "survivor" and right now he needs "to survive as prime minister for his political sake and also because of his corruption trial."
"He believes, as do the people around him, that his best chance not to be convicted, not to even to let this court case come to its eventual conclusion, is by him staying on as prime minister indefinitely," he added.
Gordon said Netanyahu has pushed through in the past despite wide resistance to his rule, but it is uncertain whether he can see out the current storm of "ongoing failures" and "corruption."
With the contentious judicial overhaul having failed, "the noose around Netanyahu is slowly closing," he said.
