The crowd cheered, a bottle was thrown: Netanyahu returned to Mahane Yehuda market after 5.5 years

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market on Thursday evening and was received warmly by the revelers, for the first time since the 2021 election campaign. The visit was accompanied by disruptions: the convoy drove on the light rail tracks and halted L1 line service, and an unknown person threw a glass bottle at the vehicles, prompting a police chase.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market on Thursday evening and was received warmly by the crowd, according to the report. The political visit comes at the height of the election campaign for the Knesset, and it is the first time Netanyahu has toured among the market's stalls since the last day before the polls opened in the 2021 election campaign. Alongside the atmosphere of support, the visit was accompanied by local disruptions. The secured convoy of vehicles drove directly on the light rail tracks, forcing the operating company to temporarily halt L1 line service between the City Hall and Neve Yaakov stations and redirect passengers to a bus array. During the convoy's passage, an unknown person threw a glass bottle that hit the area of the vehicles. Police officers and security guards at the scene ran toward the area from which the bottle was thrown to locate the suspect, and the incident remained marginal relative to the main event. The article notes that the embrace Netanyahu received in the market stands out against the charged political atmosphere in the area. According to the report, only about two weeks ago activists of the Democrats party were violently attacked near the site while operating an information stand: a group of youths beat them, broke the stand and stole a cellphone from one of the activists. Party members claimed at the time that although police were called to the scene several times, the officers remained in the patrol car and the activists had to extricate themselves.