Thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets of several cities this weekend, demanding a prisoner swap deal with the Palestinian Resistance in the Gaza Strip as well as early parliamentary elections.
Protesters blocked several highways and held demonstrations at major intersections on Sunday, reported the Times of Israel, on what had been dubbed the “day of disruption” marking nine months since the October 7 resistance operation.
The paper said Sunday’s protests were “set to culminate” in mass demonstrations outside the military headquarters in Tel Aviv and near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem.
Earlier protesters gathered outside the homes of several government ministers including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
Scuffles
On Saturday evening, police used water cannons on protesters blocking a highway in Tel Aviv, while in Jerusalem, scuffles erupted between protesters and police, the paper reported.
Thousands also gathered in Kaplan Square in central Tel Aviv demanding a ceasefire deal and saying the government should not miss the opportunity again, the state-run broadcasting authority reported, according to the Anadolu news agency.
Protesters chanted: “Deal Now” and raised banners with the slogan.
‘We Demand Elections Now!’ – Israeli Street Protests Intensify
Around 2,000 protested in Caesarea in northern Israel, and thousands more demonstrated elsewhere, including the Karqur intersection, Bat Hefer and Rehovot.
Former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz joined protesters at the Sha’ar Hanegev Junction, not far from the Gaza border, reported the Times of Israel.
“Returning our hostages even at a painful and difficult price is the right strategic decision and it is the Jewish thing to do,” Gantz reportedly said in a statement on his WhatsApp channel, the paper said.
Negotiations
Families of captives urged the country’s leaders on Saturday to not allow Netanyahu to “once again” sabotage a prisoner swap deal.
“We appeal to the heads of the security agencies and the negotiating team — all eyes are on you, do not let Netanyahu sabotage the deal again. We must rescue all the hostages,” they reportedly said at a news conference near the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv.
“The country will not return to normal until they return,” they added.
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Yedioth Ahronoth, citing unnamed informed sources, reported that a negotiating team “will leave next Monday to continue negotiations on the deal,” reported Anadolu.
On Friday, the head of Mossad, David Barnea, traveled to Doha for meetings with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani regarding the prisoner deal and cease-fire agreement in Gaza.
Upon his return to Tel Aviv, Netanyahu’s office announced that a negotiating team would depart for Qatar next week to continue discussions on the deal.
Over 38,000 Killed
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 38,098 Palestinians have been killed, and 87,705 wounded. Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
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Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
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(PC, Anadolu)
