Demonstrations demanding an immediate deal to free hostages in Gaza boiled over in Israel’s capital Wednesday night, as protesters scuffled with police, blocked Jerusalem’s light rail and lit fires near the prime minister’s residence.

Police labeled the Jerusalem protest a “violent riot” after activists blocked the rail line and refused to disperse. Officers moved in forcefully, dragging demonstrators off the tracks. The line reopened shortly afterward. Thirteen protesters were arrested, though most were released by evening.

The unrest capped a day of coordinated demonstrations across the city, organized by multiple protest groups and hostage families. Organizers estimated at least 10,000 people participated, blocking major roads, rallying outside government buildings and mounting high-profile stunts — including protesters climbing onto the roof of the National Library of Israel.

The most incendiary moment came outside Prime Minister Netanyahu’s home in the Rechavia neighborhood, where tires and dumpsters were set ablaze. One blaze spread to a parked car, forcing the evacuation of residents from a nearby building. Police later announced the arrest of two suspects, aged 60 and 80, in connection with the incident.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir denounced the arson as “terror” fueled by a permissive legal system, while police warned that “the right to protest does not grant the right to set property on fire or cause economic and health damage to the public.”

Families of the captives addressed the crowd outside Netanyahu’s residence, demanding that the government move forward with a deal even if it requires halting military operations. “The time has come to end this abandonment and advance a comprehensive deal to return everyone, even at the cost of stopping the war,” said the Brothers in Arms reservist protest group.

Bar Godard, whose father Manny was killed on October 7 and whose body is still being held in Gaza, urged demonstrators to reject violence but insisted the anger is real: “What the nation is trying to say — and it is coming like a wave — is that it simply can’t take this anymore.”

Netanyahu responded with a blistering statement, accusing the protesters of crossing red lines. “They vandalize property, they block roads, they make life miserable for millions of citizens, they chase after public officials and their families,” he said. “They threaten to murder me, the prime minister, and my family every day. They said they would surround my home with a ring of fire, exactly like fascist militias.”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid condemned the arson but turned his criticism squarely at the government. “Netanyahu, maybe enough with the whining and your endless self-victimization? You are the most secure person in the Middle East,” Lapid wrote on X. “Those standing outside your fortified and luxurious home are the families of the real victims — the hostages who have been dying in the tunnels for two years, and you are not making the deal that will save their lives.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)