Amid dramatic progress toward a prisoner exchange deal and a ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Ayelet Shaked sparked a “storm” of anger after posting a controversial poll.

Shaked’s poll, posted on her X account on Thursday, was titled: “After the release of all hostages, what will you protest about in the Hostages’ Square at Kaplan (a main street in central Tel Aviv)?”

The poll options included: “A protest, no matter about what,” “For the children of Gaza,” “Closing Channel 14,” and “Dismissal of David Zini.”

Users did not remain silent and harshly attacked the minister for attempting to downplay the protesters’ activities in the square.

Member of Knesset Merav Ben Ari responded: “You are so ignorant that you don’t even know that Hostages’ Square is located on Shaul HaMelech Street and Kaplan is on Kaplan Street, but that’s not new. Hearing this from you on a day like this, you who used to go every Friday to the Black Arrow memorial for the three hostages (before the war), shows the depth of your corruption and the dark process your soul has gone through. We will not forget you, don’t worry.”

Haaretz journalist Bar Peleg wrote in response to the poll: “At night when you go to sleep, you will know that history will not forgive you. You will know that you were part of the massacre government. You will know that you chose division and incitement against citizens instead of reform. This won’t even get you votes in the primaries.”

One user wrote: “Ayelet, your hands have shed this blood. 2000 dead victims and 251 hostages, just so you can get a ministerial position and travel abroad at our expense. The public will never forget you, I will personally make sure of that.”

Protest activist Ran Har Nevo accused Shaked, saying: “You are the worst scum that has grown here in our fields. By a large margin!” Another user corrected the minister again: “Hostages’ Square is not on Kaplan.”

It is worth noting that an official inquiry by the Maariv newspaper to the Movement for Quality Government led to an investigation into Environmental Protection Minister Ayelet Shaked’s trip to New York during the Hebrew New Year.

The trip, which lasted about a week, was presented as a trip to attend the UN Climate Conference, but according to reports, Shaked did not participate in any professional discussions or hold any official meetings related to her position, instead only attending the Prime Minister’s speech at the General Assembly.

The Movement for Quality Government stated: “We view this behavior seriously. There appears to be an unreasonable and irresponsible use of public funds. The movement will submit comprehensive freedom of information requests to obtain full details about the cost of the trip, the schedule, and the minister’s specific objectives. After receiving complete information, we will consider taking appropriate legal action.”

It added: “Trips abroad that do not yield clear results or real contributions to the state are a blatant waste of taxpayers’ money. We will continue to fight this phenomenon, as we have also done against exceptional travel expenses of other ministers.”