Tens of thousands of Israelis joined yesterday a big march organized by the families of hostages to protest against Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and to call for his removal.
On Saturday, the protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Be’er Sheva, Caesarea and other cities, in addition to other demonstrations outside the Knesset in Jerusalem on Sunday, all demanded the release of those still held captive by Hamas movement in Gaza, labeling Netanyahu an “obstacle to the hostages deal”, vowing to persist until he leaves power.
“The Israelis won’t forget or forgive anyone who prevents a deal that would bring them [the hostages] back to us. After 176 days, 4,224 hours, the excuses have run out,” said the mother of one of the hostages.
The families of hostages have urged ministers, including Netanyahu’s political rival and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, to unite with other MKs in removing Netanyahu from power, accusing the PM of deliberately sabotaging efforts to secure the release of the hostages.
Netanyahu is currently grappling with one of the most serious threats yet to his coalition. From one side, he said ‘Israel’ would press ahead with an offensive against Rafah, where half of Gaza’s population is estimated to be sheltering, thus pitting the entire world against him.
From another side, he is entering the most precarious week for his coalition since the war began as a deadline imposed by the ‘Israeli supreme court’ to end the exemption for ultra-Orthodox men from military conscription is reached on Monday. The issue divides the coalition between rightwing religious and secular parties, who want to see conscription shared more equally among Jewish Israelis.
On the seventh of October 2023, the Hamas movement abducted 250 Israelis in a complicated cross-border operation before ‘Israel’ waged a deadly war, now in its six months, on the Gaza enclave, claiming the lives of more than 32,000 Palestinians. About 130 Israelis are still being held captive in Gaza.
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