Man arrested for trying to attack anti-Netanyahu protesters

Jerusalem, Sep 21 A man was arrested after he allegedly attempted to ram his car on a group of people protesting at a rally in Jerusalem against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the coronavirus crisis, police said.

The incident took place on Sunday, reports Xinhua news agency.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said in a statement that the suspect increased the speed of his vehicle while driving towards a police roadblock.

Rosenfeld added that the suspect was arrested at the scene and taken for questioning.

"He drove in a crazy speed towards the rally. He slammed on the brakes only a second before colliding with police barricades," an eye witness told Israel's state-owned Kan TV news.

Channel 2 TV news reported that "thousands" of Israelis rallied outside the Prime Minister's official residence in Jerusalem in a weekly protest.

The protesters call the long-time leader to resign over his criminal trial, in which he faces corruption charges in three separate cases.

Netanyahu and his government have been under growing public anger over their failure to prevent the resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic in Israel and a growing economic crisis.

On September 18, a second national lockdown has been imposed in Israel in an attempt to halt the rapid spread of the virus.

( With inputs from IANS )