Protesters clash with police in Jerusalem & Tel Aviv on eve of 2nd hearing in Netanyahu’s corruption trial (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

Scuffles have broken out between police and protesters who took to the Israeli streets on Sunday, including to PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem, demanding he resign and lambasting his coronavirus response.

Police used water cannon and mounted units to disperse crowds in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as thousands of protesters demanded Netanyahu’s resignation over corruption charges, as well as demonstrating against the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A big crowd marched to Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem for the fourth time this week.

The latest protests against Netanyahu came the day before the second hearing in his trial on charges of fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes.

The government on Friday announced new restrictions over Covid-19, which has taken a heavy economic toll on the country.

Protesters argued that instead of taking action to avoid a second wave of the disease, the Israeli leader had been more preoccupied with his own legal woes.

Police use water cannon as Israelis protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem July 18, 2020. © Reuters / Ammar Awad

“Instead of planning a fight against the justice system, you should have been planning to fight against unemployment,” one of the speakers at the anti-government rally in Tel Aviv’s Charles Clore Park said, as cited by the Jerusalem Post.

Police arrested some protesters in Tel Aviv, where demonstrators blocked roads and threw objects at officers. At least one officer was allegedly pepper-sprayed.

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