Slow-moving convoy sets off in protest against the Israeli government

A slow-moving convoy of Israeli protesters set off in their vehicles on Tuesday morning to show their anger at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing and religiously conservative governing coalition.Protest organizers said the cars were deliberately driving on the country's motorways at the lowest permitted speed: 55 kilometres per hour.Under the slogan 'The campaign to return the mandate to the people,' the participants are calling for a new election.Leading activist Shikma Bressler said at the kick-off that the public had lost confidence in the political leadership, especially since the Hamas massacre on October 7.Bressler was one of the faces of last year's protests against Netanyahu's judicial reforms and has been a key figurehead in the latest demonstrations against his government.Bressler said that trust in the political leadership had been broken because they refused to take responsibility for the failures surrounding the October 7 attacks by the Palestinian Islamists.She said the p rotesters would not allow the government to 'lead the citizens to ruin.'The protesters said they are angered by the inability of Netanyahu's government to secure the release of the remaining hostages being held by the militants and how the long-time leader has waged the war against Hamas in Gaza.Pressure is growing on Netanyahu from several directions.Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Israel's three-member war Cabinet, threatened to quit earlier this month if Netanyahu does not present a post-war plan for Gaza by June 8.Gantz joined the emergency government to show Israeli political unity in the wake of the October 7 massacre.Source: Ghana News Agency