Israelis Protest to Block Netanyahu's Trip to Berlin

Demonstrators in disguise, including a mask of Netanyahu, during a protest against the draft law on judicial reform (AFP)
Demonstrators in disguise, including a mask of Netanyahu, during a protest against the draft law on judicial reform (AFP)
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Israelis Protest to Block Netanyahu's Trip to Berlin

Demonstrators in disguise, including a mask of Netanyahu, during a protest against the draft law on judicial reform (AFP)
Demonstrators in disguise, including a mask of Netanyahu, during a protest against the draft law on judicial reform (AFP)

Protest leaders in Israel launched a "day of resistance to the dictatorship" against the judicial overhaul plan by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, announcing that Thursday would be an "extraordinary day."

The protesters decided to disrupt the trip of Netanyahu slated on Wednesday to Berlin, as they did on the eve of his visit to Rome.

The number of demonstrators in the weekly protests exceeded 300,000 on Saturday, and its leadership was led by five former top leaders of the Israeli police.

Recent reports stated that the government decided to continue legislating most of the laws included in its plan, and that Netanyahu wanted to stop and halt the process, but his allies did not approve.

In response, the protest leadership decided not to enter negotiations unless the legislation was halted and the laws approved so far were canceled.

However, sources close to Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he had recently received several signs of a possible understanding.

The demonstrators protesting the government's plan had set a new record by demonstrating for the tenth week in about 130 locations.

Protest organizers said about half a million people participated in the protests nationwide, but the media put it at a quarter of a million people.

The opposition has surged from across society. For the first time, business leaders and legal officials have spoken out against what they say is a “ruinous” effect of Netanyahu’s plan.

On Saturday, five of the top inspectors of the police joined the protests and marched at the forefront of the major demonstration in Tel Aviv. They received a warm reception from the demonstrators.

The current police inspector, Yaakov Shabtai, held a press conference declaring that he made a mistake when he dismissed the Tel Aviv police chief at the request of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

"I made a mistake. I made an error of judgment; I was wrong in the timing and in the manner in which it was done. I do not take that lightly," Shabtai said, adding that he accepted the decision of the attorney general to freeze the appointment.

Shabtai also indicated he had considered resigning amid the uproar caused by the move but had decided not to walk away from the task and promised to protect the demonstrators and their right to protest.

Meanwhile, Attorney Eliad Shraga, chairman of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, one of the critical organizations protesting against the coalition's judicial overhaul program, announced that the protesters would not negotiate with the government and issued a list of firm conditions for entering into talks.

Shraga set ten strict conditions, including adopting a constitution based on "the spirit" of the Declaration of Independence and passing a bill of rights to ensure equality "in rights and obligations" as preconditions for a compromise solution.



Jailed PKK Leader Ocalan Says Armed Struggle with Türkiye Over

FILE PHOTO: A woman holds a poster of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan during a spring festival of Newroz celebration in Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, March 21, 2025. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman holds a poster of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan during a spring festival of Newroz celebration in Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, March 21, 2025. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar/File Photo
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Jailed PKK Leader Ocalan Says Armed Struggle with Türkiye Over

FILE PHOTO: A woman holds a poster of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan during a spring festival of Newroz celebration in Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, March 21, 2025. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman holds a poster of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan during a spring festival of Newroz celebration in Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, March 21, 2025. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar/File Photo

Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), appeared in a rare online video on Wednesday to declare the group's armed struggle against Türkiye over and called for a full transition to democratic politics.

In the recording, dated June and released by Firat News Agency, which is close to the PKK, Ocalan urged Türkiye's parliament to set up a commission to oversee disarmament and manage a broader peace process.

"The phase of armed struggle has ended. This is not a loss, but a historic gain," he said. "The armed struggle stage must now be voluntarily replaced by a phase of democratic politics and law."

The PKK, which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state for four decades and is designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, decided in May to disband after an initial written appeal from Ocalan in February.

Since the PKK launched its insurgency in 1984 – originally with the aim of creating an independent Kurdish state – the conflict has killed more than 40,000 people, imposed a heavy economic burden and fueled deep social and political divisions.

The video marks a rare and potentially pivotal moment in the long-running conflict, offering what could be President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most significant opportunity yet to seal a political settlement to the Kurdish issue, should his government choose to respond, Reuters reported.

It also comes before PKK militants begin handing over their weapons in groups in northern Iraq's Sulaymaniyah on Friday, in a major step in the process.

Seated in a beige polo shirt with a glass of water on the table in front of him, Ocalan appeared to read from a transcript in the seven-minute video – the first public footage or audio of him since his arrest in 1999. Six other jailed PKK members sat beside him, all looking directly at the camera.

He said the PKK, which has been based in northern Iraq's mountainous regions in recent years, had ended its separatist agenda.

"The main objective has been achieved – existence has been acknowledged. What remains would be excessive repetition and a dead end," he said.

Ocalan added that Türkiye's pro-Kurdish DEM Party, the third largest in parliament and which played a key role facilitating the PKK's disarmament decision, should work alongside other political parties to advance the peace process.

The PKK and DEM expect Ankara to address Kurdish political demands, potentially before weapons in Türkiye are handed over.

Ocalan's message came a day after Ibrahim Kalin, head of Türkiye's MIT intelligence agency, visited Baghdad for high-level meetings with Iraqi officials, the agency said. Kalin had earlier visited Erbil in northern Iraq as well.

Talks focused on strengthening border security and steps toward a "terror-free Türkiye," with the Iraqi government voicing full support for joint efforts to eliminate armed groups from the region.