Israeli protesters occupy roof of Tel Aviv stock exchange!

TEL AVIV, Israel - July 28, 2011 - Dozens of demonstrators occupied the roof of the Tel Aviv stock exchange on Thursday morning, Israeli military radio reported, as protests over the high cost of living spread throughout Israel.

Protesters scaled the building a day after the powerful Histadrut labor union threw its support behind the demonstrators, who have set up tent cities across Israel to protest the high cost of housing.

The move puts growing pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has already been forced to cancel a trip to Poland in order to address the demonstrators, offering them reforms that they rejected as insufficient.

Histadrut said it was issuing Netanyahu an ultimatum.

"If by Saturday evening, the prime minister has failed to meet with our secretary general, Ofer Eini, to discuss solutions to lift this social crisis, Histadrut will use all means at our disposal to support the demands of the protesters," a spokeswoman for the union said.

She declined to say whether Histadrut would call on its members to join a general strike announced by Israel's Union of Local Authorities on Wednesday.

The August 1 one-day strike will see local authority offices shut down and rubbish collections halted.

One of the protesters involved in occupying the roof of the Tel Aviv stock exchange told military radio it was a symbolic gesture intended to draw attention to inequalities in Israeli society.

"Ten big companies control 80% of the stock market and take all the fruits of the growth in the national economy," he said.