The crowd cheered, a bottle was thrown: Netanyahu returns to the Mahane Yehuda market after 5.5 years
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem on Thursday evening and was greeted warmly by revelers, for the first time since the 2021 election campaign. The visit was accompanied by disruptions: the convoy drove on the light rail tracks, stopping the L1 line, and an unidentified person threw a glass bottle at the vehicles, leading to a police chase.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem on Thursday evening and was greeted warmly by the crowd, according to reports. The political visit takes place at the height of the Knesset election campaign, and it is the first time Netanyahu has walked among the market stalls since the last day before polling stations opened in the 2021 elections. Alongside the supportive atmosphere, the visit was accompanied by local disruptions. The secure convoy drove directly on the light rail tracks, forcing the operating company to temporarily halt the L1 line between the Municipality and Neve Yaakov stations and redirect passengers to a bus network. During the convoy's passage, an unidentified person threw a glass bottle that hit the area of the vehicles. Police and security personnel present 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 at the market stands out against the backdrop of the tense 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 booth: a group of youths beat them, broke the booth, and stole a mobile phone from one of the activists. Party members then claimed that although the police were called to the scene several times, the officers remained in their patrol car and the activists had to extricate themselves.