In a recorded speech on Wednesday, Netanyahu described the protests against his government as “funded, organized, and having crossed all limits,” pointing to protesters chasing government ministers and personally threatening to kill him.

Netanyahu said: “Protesting is legitimate in a democracy, but what is happening in the funded and organized political protests against the government, which have crossed all limits, is the destruction of property, road closures, disruption of millions of citizens, and the pursuit of elected officials and their children to kindergartens and schools.”

He added that protesters “threaten daily to kill me and my family, set fires, and said they would surround my house, the Prime Minister’s residence, with a ring of fire, just like fascist battalions do.”

He referred to what he called a “state of lawlessness” that must change, urging law enforcement agencies to act and “preserve democracy,” as he described it.

He said: “Where is the law enforcement? It does not exist, there is no selective enforcement here, it simply does not exist at all, and this must change.” He continued: “This is what I demand from law enforcement agencies, this is what the people of Israel demand to preserve democracy here.”

On Wednesday morning, a series of protests led by families of kidnapped Israeli soldiers began in Jerusalem, demanding pressure on the government to reach a prisoner exchange deal.

Protesters set fire to garbage containers surrounding Netanyahu’s house as a pressure message calling for a halt to the war and progress towards a settlement including a prisoner exchange deal, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation.

Some protesters climbed onto the roof of the National Library, while a protest procession headed to the city center. Families of prisoners also organized a demonstration in front of the home of Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, demanding a halt to government plans towards Gaza and moving towards a prisoner exchange deal to ensure the return of their children.