Thousands of Israelis protested outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's official residence on Saturday night and early Sunday, pushing a month-long campaign for the Israeli leader to resign.

The protests came as Israel is coping with record levels of coronavirus infections, now in their 11th week.

Demonstrators protested Netanyahu's handling of the coronavirus crisis, which has resulted in rising unemployment, and they say he should step down for corruption charges while on trial.

Protesters carried signs reading "Revolution" and "Get out of here" and raised Israeli flags in blue-and-white. A sign was projected on a Hebrew building reading, directed at the prime minister: "Enough with you."

Smaller crowds gathered around the country on bridges and at intersections, calling for Netanyahu to step down, too.

The government acted rapidly to control last spring's coronavirus, but bungled the economy's reopening and now finds itself struggling with a stronger epidemic.

The death toll has exceeded 1,000 people and the world is contemplating a new lockdown to curb the rapid increase in everyday infections. Currently Israel has over 26,000 COVID-19 cases involved.

Although the demonstrations have largely been peaceful in recent weeks, protesters scuffled with police in several locations.



At least 13 arrests were made, including that of a man who claimed "was provocatively dressed as a woman"

Police also said that when a crowd broke through a police blockade, two officers were lightly wounded.

Netanyahu has described the demonstrators as "anarchists" and "leftists." Yet his stern talk-and even a string of successes in foreign policy-has done little to stop the crowds.

Serbia and Kosovo gave Israel a diplomatic boost on Friday, as Serbia announced that it would move its embassy to Jerusalem and Kosovo said that it would build relations with Israel with an embassy in Jerusalem.

The announcements, making the countries the third and fourth to move their embassies to the disputed Jerusalem, followed last month 's historic Israeli agreement to create diplomatic ties with the UAE.

Netanyahu vowed to stay in office despite having been charged with bribery , fraud and breach of confidence in three long-running inquiries into corruption last year.

He refuted the charges, dubbed them a "witch-hunt" and raged at the courts, law enforcement and media.

SOURCE: AP News Agency