By Zein Khalil
JERUSALEM (AA) - Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized the country’s internal security service, Shin Bet, on Tuesday after dozens of protestors tried to break into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's house.
Protesters breached police barriers set up on the road leading to Netanyahu's residence in West Jerusalem during demonstrations calling for the government's resignation, early elections and a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian group Hamas.
"Last week, I warned Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar of disregarding the security of the Prime Minister and was rejected,'' Ben-Gvir write on X.
"I demand that Shin Bet immediately wake up and take Prime Minister Netanyahu's and his family's security seriously,'' he added.
He emphasized that "a situation where thousands of people break into the area of the Prime Minister's house and the Shin Bet turns a blind eye is unacceptable.''
The protesters besieged Netanyahu's residence and breached the final barrier toward it, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
Hamas, which is believed to be holding nearly 130 Israeli hostages, demands an end to Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip in return for a hostage deal with Tel Aviv.
A previous deal in November last year saw the release of 81 Israelis and 24 foreigners in exchange for 240 Palestinians, including 71 women and 169 children.
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas which killed some 1,200 people.
More than 32,900 Palestinians have since been killed and 75,494 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which on Thursday asked it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul