Thousands of people in Israel held demonstrations outside the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Saturday, calling for his ouster with only three days left for the country's fourth parliamentary election in two years.

People waved flags and carried posters about the need for a "revolution" and mistrust in the police, while a man with a bullhorn was heard chanting "Bibi go home," using Netanyahu's  nickname.

The anti-Netanyahu protests have been a weekly occurrence for the last nine months.

However, they saw a decline in numbers due to the winter and after the announcement of early elections in December.

Largest protest in months

Saturday night's rally was the 39th such protest and the largest the country has seen in months. Those in the grassroots protest movement accuse Netanyahu of corruption — a charge he denies.

The prime minister's management of the coronavirus has also been blamed for the struggling Israeli economy and job losses.

Still, Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party is expected to emerge as the biggest party in the 120-member parliament but opinion polls are predicting a tight race with no clear majority in the ballot scheduled for March 23. 

The 71-year-old is relying on his successful COVID-19 inoculation campaign and a series of normalization agreements with Arab nations to lead him to victory.

dvv/sri (AFP, AP, Reuters)