Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today (Sunday) published a video that went viral on social media within minutes, in which he took the unusual step of revealing his personal phone number - and called on the public to contact him directly.
In a video he published, Netanyahu explained the motive behind the move: "I am interested in hearing from you. Your suggestions, your questions, your pain. I want to hear, and leave me a message. I don't promise that I will answer everyone, I will answer as many as I can and I ask to hear from you.".
But the response to the initiative was beyond all expectations: within a few minutes, the Prime Minister's phone could not handle the load of inquiries - and collapsed under thousands of messages and calls that flowed in simultaneously.
Documents began to be published on Twitter showing Netanyahu's phone screen being constantly flooded with incoming calls and WhatsApp notifications, which ultimately led to the complete shutdown of the line.
Prime Minister's advisor Topaz Lok tweeted: "Due to the overload of calls to the Prime Minister's number, WhatsApp has been blocked.".
