Thousands rally against Israel's PM Tens of thousands of people have demonstrated on the streets of Tel Aviv to call for the resignation of Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister. The rally in Yitzhak Rabin Square on Thursday comes in response to Olmert's refusal to step down after criticism of his handling of Israel's war against Hezbollah last summer. Local media said as many as 150,000 protesters were present as parents of soldiers killed in the conflict and prominent local authors, among others, spoke to the crowd. The demonstration also comes after strong debate in a special session of the Israeli parliament, where Benjamin Netanyahu, the opposition Likud Party leader, led the call for Olmert to step down and called for an early general election - a ballot that opinion polls show his party would win. During the session to discuss the scathing Winograd commission's report, Netanyahu said: "We have to go back to the people and let them have their say." However Olmert's governing coalition has held together, with little apparent appetite among its members for an election. On Wednesday, Olmert dismissed a public call to resign from Tzipi Livni, the foreign minister, and won critical support from loyalists in their Kadima party. Crucial turnout But Jacky Rowland, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tel Aviv, said the real test for Olmert would be the strength of the demonstrations. Your Views "It would be best if he resigned and if the country elects a candidate who would reach for peaceful solutions" Casey, Kitchener, Canada Send us your views As night fell on Thursday, both secular and religious demonstrators crowded Tel Aviv's Yitzhak Rabin Square calling on Olmert to go, echoing the parliamentary debate earlier in the day on the inquiry's report. Rowland said that many Israelis are simply sick and tired of politicians and politics. Organisers said up to 70,000 were present by 8pm (17:00 GMT) and the Associated Press reported that turnout appeared to top 100,000. But police refused to estimate the crowd's size. Yigal Armoni, one of Thursday's protesters, said: "We're here to tell Olmert ... to go. He's on the edge of a cliff. All he needs is a small push, but tonight we'll give him a big one." Uzi Dayan, a retired general and a main speaker, said organisers decided not to allow politicians to address the crowd, to give the gathering a grass-roots nature. He said: "The Israeli people don't trust Olmert and we can't go on like this. What you hear tonight is the voice of the people and you would need to be deaf not to hear a voice this loud." However, Tal Zilberstein, an adviser to Olmert, shrugged off the rally, saying it would not prompt the prime minister to think again. Olmert has accepted responsibility for "many mistakes" during the war against Hezbollah last summer but said he will not resign and insists he is the best man to put things right. The rally's turnout could determine whether Olmert remains in power or decides to resign [Reuters]
Well The so known Undefeatable israel has been defeated badly by Hezbullah! So they have every right to go out on streets and rally.
It amazes me how you two can repeat the same nonsense over and over again. Do you have keyboard macros for all of your sentences? First, no one defeated the Israeli's. The Israeli's decided to withdraw because all of their targets were hiding behind women and children. The sheet heads hid from the fight and you call that victory? If the sheet heads really had defeated the Israeli Army, they would be ransacking in Jerusalem right now. They would be murdering men, women, and children. They would be destroying synagogues and pillaging the wealth which the Israeli's have created. There would be millions of dead. That would be a victory for Hezbollah. Instead of gaining victory in achieving their goals, Hezbollah suffered losses in both military manpower and material and then they simply hid until the Israeli's left town. Secondly, if Olmert does resign, he will be replaced by Benjamin Netanyahu of the conservative Likud party. Ben Netanyahu is no apologist for the Islamists. Netanyahu is bad news for anyone who seeks to destroy his country and murder his people. Ben is tough (he's a veteran of Sayeret Matkal) and smart (he's a graduate of MIT) and he's the last man which the filthy Hezbollah want to see on the other side of the trench. __________________