After the death of six hostages in Gaza, an unprecedented protest is shaking Israel. The demonstrators are demanding an agreement for the release of Israelis held by Hamas. The Prime Minister, for his part, is persisting in his logic of war.
The execution of six Israeli hostages by Hamas in Gaza prompted hundreds of thousands of Israelis to take to the streets Sunday night in mourning and anger. A rare call for a general strike in Israel to protest the failure to return the hostages held in Gaza led to shutdowns and other disruptions across the country Monday, including at its main international airport. Families of the victims and much of the public blame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the killings, and say the hostages could have been released alive as part of a deal with Hamas to end the nearly 11-month war.
Echoing these protests, US President Joe Biden said Monday that Netanyahu was not doing enough to reach an agreement to free Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but that the agreement was “close.” One would like to share his optimism, but the impasse is not only the result of the Israeli prime minister’s intransigence: it reflects the common interest of the two enemies in confrontation, Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, to prolong as long as possible the murderous immobility that suits them so well.
For Sinwar, a ceasefire agreement would mean an impossible face-to-face meeting with the Palestinian population over the consequences of the massacre he unleashed on October 7, 2023. For Netanyahu, the end of Israel’s reprisals in Gaza would mean the end of his “war cabinet” and a return to his corruption trials. For the civilian population, this tacit agreement between the two false enemies can only lead to the continuation of the disaster that has already killed more than 40,000 Palestinians. But for Western leaders, of whom Joe Biden is the only one with influence over Israel, these endless talks have the merit of containing the war and avoiding the regional conflagration that the markets fear. This is what the Israelis have understood, and it is also against this cynical calculation that they are taking to the streets.
