LAST UPDATE | 2 Sep
ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu has asked nationwide protesters urging for a ceasefire for “forgiveness” for not saving six hostages whose bodies were found in Gaza over the weekend.
Protesters staged a nationwide strike today aimed at ramping up pressure of the Israeli Government to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza through a ceasefire deal with Hamas.
Demonstrators blocked roads and many businesses remained closed this morning until the Israeli Government filed an injunction against to protestors to stop the general strike in a Tel Aviv court this afternoon.
Speaking during a televised address this evening, the Israeli Prime Minister asked for forgiveness for not being able to save the six hostages who were found dead in Gaza this weekend and said Hamas “will pay a heavy price” for their deaths.
“I ask for your forgiveness for not bringing them back alive,” Netanyahu said at a televised press conference. “We were close but we didn’t succeed. Hamas will pay a very heavy price for this.”
The Tel Aviv Labour Court issued an order to forbid the democratic strikes, stating that the protests must end immediately. The court cited the “politically motivated” nature of the strike in its ruling this afternoon.
The call by Israel’s largest union to paralyse the economy followed a night of massive demonstrations, with hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to the streets in an outpouring of grief and fury over six hostages killed in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli soldiers recovered the bodies of the six from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area of southern Gaza on Saturday.
The demonstrations on Sunday appeared to be the largest since the start of the war, with organisers estimating that up to 500,000 people joined nationwide events and the main rally held in Tel Aviv. Israeli media estimated that 200,000 to 400,000 took part.
Relatives and demonstrators have accused the government of not doing enough to bring the hostages back alive, and called for an immediate ceasefire to rescue the dozens still held captive by Hamas. Demonstrations have been taking place almost weekly since October but have ramped up significantly this summer.
One of the six hostages whose body was recovered over the weekend was Carmel Gat, whose cousin Gil Dickmann spoke to The Journal in June about the families of hostages who are urging the government to bring their loved ones home.
Dickmann posted a statement from Carmel’s family on X yesterday which said they were not interested in meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We will not allow him to use us as justification and legitimisation for the murder of the next abductee. The blood of the kidnapped is on his hands.”
Of the 251 hostages seized during the Hamas-led 7 October attack on Israel, 97 remain in Gaza, including 33 the army says are dead.
Scores were released during a one-week truce in November, with campaigners and family members believing another deal is the best option to ensure the rest return.
“We are asking our government to stop everything and to make a deal,” Yair Keshet, uncle of hostage Yarden Bibas, said during last night’s protest in Tel Aviv.
“We must stop the abandonment of the hostages… I have come to the conclusion that only our intervention can shake those who need to be shaken,” said Histadrut union chair Arnon Bar-David.
He called on “the entire Israeli economy” to go on a “complete strike” to pressure the government into signing a deal.
Several major cities across Israel have joined the strike, closing schools and municipal services for several hours. Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv was operating “as usual”, a spokeswoman told the AFP news agency, but takeoffs were halted for two hours.
In Jerusalem and some other cities, life appeared to go on as usual. Some private companies, like public transportation providers, have partially suspended operations in support of the strike.
Haaretz has reported that police forcibly dispersed hundreds of protesters who briefly blocked the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv. Protesters then moved to another section of the road and were also cleared and six were arrested.
The strike has received backing from one of North America’s larger unions, Service Employees International Union, which said that it would “stand in solidarity with workers in Israel going on strike to demand a ceasefire agreement that ends the harm to hostages and suffering in Gaza”.
The union represents two million workers across the US and Canada.
We stand in solidarity with workers in Israel going on strike to demand a ceasefire agreement that ends the harm to hostages and suffering in Gaza. We strongly support the call for a general strike by Israel national labor union @HistadrutGlobal.
— SEIU (@SEIU) September 2, 2024
Critics have accused Netanyahu of prolonging the war for political gain. Israeli media reported last week that the prime minister got into a shouting match with his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, during a cabinet meeting.
The argument was reportedly over Israel’s negotiating position in the so far failed ceasefire talks. Netanyahu has demanded that the Israeli military maintain control of a corridor separating the north and south of the Gaza Strip and another corridor along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt.
Gallant, who alongside Netanyahu is the subject of an arrest warrant request from the prosecutor at the ICC, has also criticised the prime minister’s “total victory” war aim, which means the complete destruction of Hamas, something Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari has said is not possible.
There is a widespread perception in Israel that Netanyahu is continuing to prolong the war in order to maintain his position in office, because once the war ends the current coalition government that was assembled in response to the 7 October attack is likely to collapse.
Prior to the attack in October and the retaliatory campaign that followed, Netanyahu already had plenty of critics in Israel. Some of those grievances were put to the side due to the war but the divisions have re-emerged as the conflict has raged on.
He remains at the centre of a corruption trial that began in 2020 and has been delayed at different times due to Covid-19 and the current conflict. If convicted, he could be forced to vacate the premiership. Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing.
“Were it not for the delays, sabotage and excuses” in months of mediation efforts, the six hostages would likely still be alive”, campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has said today that his far-right group in government was preventing the securing of a ceasefire deal, Haaretz reported.
“Today, we have power in the government, and I’m not ashamed to say that we’re using this power to prevent a reckless deal and to stop any negotiations altogether,” he said to a crowd protesting against the strike outside the Prime Minister’s office.
“You give us the strength, so keep shouting, and we will do our job to ensure that Netanyahu doesn’t fold and that there won’t be a reckless deal,” he said.
Contains reporting from David Mac Redmond © AFP 2024 and Press Association
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