Israeli media highlights widening protests, including reservists and former security officials, who are demanding a ceasefire and the release of prisoners, and accusing the government of obstructing negotiations. Here is a quick review.
Israeli media outlets have addressed the widening circle of protesters against the continuation of the war in the Gaza Strip, amid escalating voices within former military and security circles demanding a halt to operations and the release of Israeli prisoners.
Additionally, direct accusations are being made against the government for deliberately obstructing any agreements aimed at ending the war.
According to Israel’s Channel 13, the protests within the reserve forces are expanding, especially after the dismissal of the pilots who signed a petition demanding an end to the war. New groups of reserve soldiers have joined the growing movement and announced their solidarity with the dismissed pilots.
The military affairs correspondent for Channel 13, Or Heller, stated that the new petitions being signed reiterate the same demand: the priority of recovering the 59 captives from Gaza, even if it requires a temporary cessation of the war, with the understanding that fighting would resume later if necessary.
For its part, Channel 12 reported that 3,700 people signed a petition calling for a halt to the war in the past 24 hours alone, and estimates indicate that the total number of signatories has reached thousands of former soldiers from various units.
According to the channel, the list of signatories included 1,600 paratroopers and ground forces soldiers, 1,500 from the armored corps, approximately 200 reserve doctors, and more than 250 retirees from the Mossad, including three former heads of the agency, in addition to members of the Navy, Unit 8200, and the “Talpiot” program.
In contrast, the National Security Minister from the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, Itamar Ben-Gvir, attacked these protests, saying, “We will not sacrifice the future for the present with reckless behavior as they did in the Oslo Accords,” and accused the protesters of lacking vision.
However, Haim Tomer, a former Mossad official and a signatory of the petition, stressed that the aim of the petitions is to convey a message to public opinion that the government is not making sufficient effort to recover the prisoners from Gaza, and expressed his rejection of speculation about the repercussions of their release.
Dr. Nassim Katz, a specialist in media and party politics, believes that opinion polls reflect a “near consensus” among Israelis that the release of prisoners should be a priority that outweighs the continuation of the war.
Channel 13 broadcast a protest by the families of Israeli prisoners in front of the home of the Minister of Strategic Affairs and head of the negotiating delegation on prisoners, Ron Dermer. Einav Tsangauker, the mother of one of the prisoners, attacked him, saying: “What are you doing? You dismantled the negotiating team and are stalling… Shame on you!”, accusing the government of deliberate negligence.
For their part, the parents of the captured soldier, Edan Alexander, criticized the government, saying: “After more than 555 days, the country’s leaders are still celebrating Passover while our son remains detained in Gaza,” and considered that the government has lost its moral compass.
As for the political affairs correspondent for Channel 12, Yaron Abraham, he pointed to a belief within the political and military echelons that continuing military pressure and the siege might force the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas to retreat, but he clarified that this assessment does not have a consensus within professional circles.
In the same context, national security expert Kobi Marom said that the appearance of the Israeli captive, Idan Alexander, in a new video “confirms the continued neglect of the government regarding this file,” explaining that the authorities had previously made a courageous decision regarding a deal and then retracted it.
For its part, “i24NEWS” quoted the former head of the Shin Bet, Ami Ayalon, confirming that the Israeli government was the one that violated the agreement that would have led to the recovery of the prisoners, adding that “Benjamin Netanyahu decided that the agreement was bad and it was abandoned, and this war will not end, nor will the prisoners return if we continue this approach.”
(AJA, PC, Israeli Media)
The ZioNazis are greedy, shady scumbags. They remind me of the fat greasy pigs in George Orwell’s, Animal Farm. Better than the rest, above the law, bound to destroy their own little group from within, due to their greed, gluttony, self-aggrandizement.
But we should be realistic and realize that none of the Israeli Jews in government or the military did anything to stop the genocide for 18 months. ” There are no innocents ” …