Thousands across Israel demonstrate against natural gas plan
Protests took place in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Be'er Sheva, Zichron Ya'akov, Rosh Pina, Nazareth Illit and Kiryat Shmona.
Thousands took part in demonstrations on Saturday evening against the Israeli government's impending approval of the natural gas plan.
In Tel Aviv, several thousand protesters marched from Kikar Habima in the center to the north of the city. A further 1,000 demonstrated in Haifa, around 500 took to the streets in Jerusalem, and smaller protests even took place in Zichron Ya'akov and Rosh Pina, with 200 and 100 people turning out respectively. Dozens also went out to demonstrate in Nazareth Illit and Kiryat Shmona in the north of the country.
Protesters carried signs in Hebrew saying "No more robbery," "We will not be silent" and "Transparency," as well as shouting out slogans against the "gas robbery" and against tycoons.
The protest in Tel Aviv opened with a memorial ceremony in honor of those killed in Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris and in a shooting attack in the South Hebron Hills on the same day.
Several protesters were arrested during another anti-gas plan demonstration in Tel Aviv the week before, after they attempted to block the Ayalon freeway.
Mor Gilboa, the head of the Green Course movement, said: "I was interrogated under police warning last week because I underwrote the biggest protest here since summer 2011.
"Another activist from Be'er Sheva was interrogated in the same manner, along with an activist from Tel Aviv," Gilboa continued.
"Stop the gas robbery, not us! This is this biggest economic, social and environmental battle of our generation.
"We cannot continue to stay silent when the reality before us is that our future is being stolen from us, as it is from the future generations who will live here after us," he said.
"Natural gas is a public natural resource and must serve the public. We demand that prices in the local gas market be regulated at a maximum of three dollars per unit, in line with natural gas prices throughout the region."
Noam (Dabul) Dvir, Ahiya Raved and Yael Friedson contributed to this report.
