Histadrut Labor Federation chief Arnon Bar-David announced on Sunday a general strike scheduled to begin on Monday in response to the failure to secure the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza.
Ben Gurion International Airport joined the general strike halting all arrivals and departures from this main hub on Monday in a bid to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a prisoner exchange deal with the resistance movements in Gaza.
The spokesperson for Histadrut, the largest labor union in Israel, announced that Ben Gurion airport will be closed to all takeoffs and landings starting from 8 AM on Monday, without revealing when operations will resume.
However, an unidentified airport official told Israel’s Channel 12 that “the strike at Ben Gurion Airport may be extended past 10 am despite intense pressure from the government to resume operations,” the Israeli newspaper Times of Israel reported.
According to the paper, at present, “flights are not departing the airport, and checked baggage is not being put on planes.”
The paper added that an official in the Histadrut told Channel 12 that “the organization is considering extending the general strike to tomorrow.”
"Israel's" Ben Gurion airport has gone out of service due to one of the largest labor strikes in Israeli history demanding the return of Israeli captives. pic.twitter.com/tc6J2b2fOB
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) September 2, 2024
Reaching a Deal
Israel’s largest and most influential trade union Histadrut has called a general strike to pressure the government into a ceasefire deal.
Histadrut Labor Federation chief Arnon Bar-David announced on Sunday a general strike scheduled to begin on Monday in response to the failure to secure the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza, according to Israeli media.
According to the Israeli newspaper Times of Israel, Bar-David emphasized the urgency of reaching a deal, stating that “a deal is more important than anything else.”
The move comes after the Israeli army announced that it had recovered the bodies of six Israeli captives in a tunnel in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
‘More Important than Anything’ – Histadrut Calls General Strike over Ceasefire Deal Stalemate
During a press conference following his meeting with the ‘Hostages and Missing Families Forum’ in Tel Aviv, Bar-David reportedly declared, “Jews are being murdered in the tunnels of Gaza. It is impossible to grasp and has to stop.”
Additionally, after discussions with various security officials, Bar-David expressed his belief that the deal to release the captives is stalled due to “political considerations,” and lamented that political polarization has divided the nation.
“We are no longer one people; we are camp against camp,” he reportedly said, adding, “we need to bring back the State of Israel.”
Earlier Sunday, the forum urged the public to participate in a large demonstration demanding a complete shutdown of the country and appealed to the powerful Histadrut to organize a mass strike on Monday.
This call was supported by the Israel Business Forum, which represents most private-sector workers from 200 of the country’s largest companies, as well as by Israel’s opposition Leader Yair Lapid.
As the General Strike begins across Israel, Flight Operations at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv are nearly at a Standstill. With Ticketing, Baggage, and Gate Agents all involved with Strike, which has now been Extended from 0800-1000, until the Late Afternoon. pic.twitter.com/eXsPGwBgjq
— Alex Kennedy (@therealmindman) September 2, 2024
Gaza Genocide Continues
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
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, 40,738 Palestinians have been killed, and 94,154 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
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’.
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.
(PC, Anadolu)
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