Protesters gather outside Israeli PM's office in Jerusalem

Thousands of Israelis protested outside prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem Saturday as summer-long demonstrations against Benjamin Netanyahu maintained ir momentum.

protesters want embattled Netanyahu to give up his post while he is on trial for corruption charges.He has rejected calls to step down and claimed protests are work of leftists and media. government's mishaps in handling coronavirus crisis after relative success in its early sts has also fueled demonstrations.

Israel appeared to contain pandemic in its first phase during spring, but quick reopening of ecomy led to a spike in cases.Over 100,000 Israelis have tested positive for virus. pandemic has caused unemployment numbers to hover over 20%.Netanyahu was charged last year with bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three long-running corruption investigations.

(Im Credit: AP)