This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

Up to 150,000 protesters took to the streets in cities across Israel on Saturday night in the biggest demonstrations the country has seen in decades to demand action on rising house prices and rents, low salaries, the high cost of raising children and other social issues.

The demonstrations, held in 12 cities including Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, marked the high point of a popular protest movement that has gathered momentum over the past two weeks and shows no signs of letting up in its demands for "social justice".

Activist Daphni Leef, who initiated the first "tent village" protest in Tel Aviv against housing prices two weeks ago, told a crowd of 70,000-100,000 Israelis gathered outside the city's main art museum that "we don't want to replace the government, but to do more than that. We want to change the rules of the game".

About 10,000 protesters gathered outside the prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, according to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

The celebrated author David Grossman told the crowd: "The people are loyal to the state, but the state isn't loyal to them." Noam Shalit, the father of captured soldier Gilad Shalit, also spoke at the rally.

For a country with a population of around 7 million, the numbers taking part in the demonstrations were huge. The scale of the protests and the widespread support for them among the Israeli public and in the media have seriously rattled Netanyahu.

"We are now in the midst of a complicated and challenging reality, both internationally and domestically," he told minsters at Sunday's cabinet meeting.

He warned against "irresponsible, hasty and populist steps" which could destabilise Israel's economy, but added: "All of us, myself first and foremost ... [are] aware of the genuine hardship of the cost-of-living in Israel."

Netanyahu announced a taskforce to examine ways of tackling the cost of living, and is considering postponing the parliamentary recess, due to begin at the end of this week.

Meanwhile, Haim Shani, director general of the finance ministry resigned, citing differences of opinion with his political bosses.

Thousands of medics joined a rally outside the Knesset (parliament) as part of a long-running work-to-rule over pay and conditions. Parents marched through Jerusalem with their children on Sunday evening in protest over the cost of child-care and baby equipment.

"One-third of our combined salaries goes on kindergarten fees," said Yaron, the father of 10-month-old twins.

Workplace strikes are planned nationwide on Monday, with tens of thousands of Israelis signalling their support for a jobs "boycott" on Facebook. The Histradut, Israel's trade union federation, might also join the protests.

Another Facebook page called on Israelis to make mass cash withdrawals from ATMs on 8 August in protest at high bank charges.

Although the protests began over the high cost of renting and buying homes, the dominant slogan on Saturday's demonstrations was "the people demand social justice".

Some commentators have declared that the scale of the protests spells the end of the present rightwing coalition government.

"It was the night that Binyamin Netanyahu was tossed out of the prime minister's office in disgrace," wrote Gideon Levy in Haaretz.

"As of [Saturday] he is a lame duck ... When tens of thousands of Israelis scream 'Bibi go home', Bibi will indeed go home. Bye bye, Bibi, goodbye for good."

However some activists have warned that without organisation, leadership and properly formulated demands, the protests risk losing momentum over the summer vacation period and could be eclipsed by the Palestinians' expected bid for statehood at the United Nations in September.