Staff Reporter.
Hundreds of protesters rallied Friday outside Downing Street in central London to heckle the arrival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a meeting with his British counterpart Rishi Sunak.
Netanyahu has faced weeks of escalating protests in Israel over his government’s judicial reform programme, which would increase politicians’ power over the courts and critics argue is a threat to democracy.
Demonstrators in the UK capital, many holding Israeli flags and placards critical of the country’s veteran leader, shouted “shame” in Hebrew as he greeted Sunak at the door of 10 Downing Street.
They erected the letters of the word “democracy” on Whitehall opposite the entrance to the gated street, while wielding signs accusing Netanyahu of dragging Israel towards “dictatorship”.
“It’s important to be here because maybe at some point they won’t have the right to protest in Israel,” Dana Drori, a mother-of-two in her 30s, told AFP at the protest, alongside her young daughters.
“It’s anger, it’s sadness,” she said of her emotions. “It’s just hard to believe it’s becoming a dictatorship.”
In a televised address hours before departing for London, Netanyahu pledged to restore unity within his increasingly fractured country, but gave little away about how he would do that while still pursuing the reforms.