Unlike Palestinians in Gaza, Israelis can rise up to challenge their leadership. Late-night skirmishes between protesters and the authorities Sunday on Tel Aviv’s usually hyper-busy eight-lane Ayalon Highway were a manifestation of that.
As flames and dense smoke engulfed wooden pallets and tires on the roads, I watched a young man, blue paint spray in hand, scrawl his message to the prime minister in foot-high letters on the roadside wall: “Hostages or revolt.”
Labor federation chief Arnon Bar-David says hostage release stuck due to ‘political considerations,’ most of labor market will strike as of 6 a.m. Monday
Protesters gather in Tel Aviv after Israel‘s army announced it recovered the bodies of 6 hostages in Gaza.
Israel on Sunday said it had recovered the bodies of six hostages in Gaza. Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages protested Sunday outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s office in Jerusalem. Eylon Keshet, a family member of a Hamas-held hostage, says ‘it’s been a nightmare every day,’ adding that Netanyahu ‘should be held responsible’ and Hamas should be pressured into a ceasefire.
Grieving and angry Israelis surged into the streets Sunday night after six more hostages were found dead in Gaza, chanting “Now! Now!” as they demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach a cease-fire with Hamas to bring the remaining captives home.
Israel’s largest trade union, the Histadrut, pressured the government by calling a general strike for Monday, the first since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that started the war.