Israel’s largest and most influential trade union 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.
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“The action will start at 6 a.m. and is currently planned as a one-day strike, with Bar-David saying decisions beyond Monday will be made later,” the report stated.
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 in the day, 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.
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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.
Massive Protests
Thousands of Israelis took to the streets Saturday requesting a prisoners’ exchange agreement between their government and the resistance movements in Gaza.
Israeli media reported that the huge demonstrations took place in different cities namely, Tel Aviv and Haifa.
The Israel Broadcasting Authority (KAN) said that the demonstrators in Tel Aviv closed parts of the Ayalon Highway in the city center.
In conjunction, protesters in Haifa took to the streets in the Karkur Junction and Rehovot, according to the Israeli daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
“Dozens of demonstrators closed a major road at the Karkur Junction, while other demonstrators closed a crossroads in Rehovot,” the newspaper stated.
According to Al-Mayadeen, the protesters have set up on August 26 several tents along Rothschild Street as part of their demonstration.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
Tents? Tents?! Deploy the SWAT! Attack dogs! Police-backed militants! Crush! Burn!! Enforce!! You know what happens in tent encampments?! Anti-Israel sentiment! Anti-Zionism sentiment!! You know, “Antisemitism”!!! What? Oh ya, that’s Palestinians. But, but the Zionist tent encampments must be, must be, Arabs! Iranians! Russians! It couldn’t be us!?
One has to wonder if there are revelations about 10-7 Netanyahu fears… could Israeli agitators find common cause with Palestinan activists?
Clearly, ” Israel ” doesn’t want a two-state solution. They’re murdering women and children. What ” two states ” could there be?