Three years after October 7, 75% of Israel's border-area Jews say war will shape their vote

TEL AVIV, October 25 - Thousands of protesters marched through Tel Aviv on Saturday, three days before the country's general election, in a demonstration against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Organized by the October Council, an organization founded by the families of victims and hostages from the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, the protest aimed to demand accountability and establish a commission of inquiry.

The rally drew participation from leaders of the four main opposition parties, with Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief, leading the crowd. Polls conducted before the election indicated that neither Netanyahu's bloc nor Eisenkot's would secure a parliamentary majority. Hadas Feuershtein, a 68-year-old participant, expressed her disappointment with Netanyahu's leadership, stating that Israel was facing a dire situation.

Law enforcement had been alerted to potential provocations from pro-government supporters. The October Council had warned of possible confrontations, and the Israeli police arrested a suspect for assaulting a security team of a public figure in Tel Aviv. The rally followed years of calls from Israeli civil society and opposition parties for an independent commission of inquiry into the security failures that led to the October 7 attack.

Netanyahu's government refused to establish such a body, offering instead a "political" commission with members appointed by both ruling and opposition lawmakers, which opposition leaders vowed to boycott. As the election campaign concluded, Eisenkot and opposition leader Naftali Bennett were expected to meet with voters in Tel Aviv one last time on Sunday evening.