Israeli anti-government protesters demand early elections, hostage release in 'Day of Disruption'

May 20 (UPI) -- Israeli anti-government activists clashed with police Monday on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway as they demanded the government resign over its failure to gain the release of hostages held by Hamas for nearly eight months, and clear the way for early elections.

The protesters' "Day of Disruption" coincided with Monday's start of the Knesset's summer assembly following a controversial wartime recess and disagreements over Haredi conscription legislation.

One of the many anti-government organizations participating in the demonstrations, Brothers in Arms, said 13 of its members -- who "stood on the sidelines holding pictures of the hostages and Israeli flags" -- were arrested after blocking traffic on the main highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

"The Israel Police has become an executive political tool of an extremist government," Brothers in Arms said in a statement on X. "We will continue with a determined and nonviolent protest to return the mandate to the people. We call on the public to join us until the Knesset is dissolved."

Police said they detained the protesters over concerns they were planning to set vehicles on fire after officers claimed they found cans of gasoline.

Besides demanding the Knesset and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resign over their failure to free the hostages, the activists also rallied for the tens of thousands of residents from the north and south who remain displaced due to the ongoing war and attacks from Hezbollah and Hamas.

"This is the legacy of the government of destruction," Brothers in Arms said. "Hostages in hell, burned homes and vehicles, abandonment of the residents of the north, time-wasting with the Haredi conscription evasion law and political games at the expense of our forces."

"It is time for the public to rise up and for the government of destruction to disappear."

More than 35,000 Palestinians have died since the Hamas attack and the start of the war, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

On Monday, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three of Hamas' top leaders for starting the war in Gaza.

U.S. President Joe Biden called the ICC's warrants "outrageous," saying they wrongly suggest that Israel and Hamas share equal blame for the war.

"There is no equivalency -- none -- between Israel and Hamas," Biden said. "We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security."