The Israeli trade union center, the Histadrut, declared this Sunday, September 1, a “general strike” for Monday, while the Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons called for a demonstration to push Benjamin Netanyahu to reach an agreement for the release of the hostages held in Gaza.
Shock and anger in Israel after the discovery of the bodies of six hostages in a tunnel in the Gaza Strip. The powerful Israeli trade union, the Histadrut, has declared a “general strike” for Monday, September 2, in order to force Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to reach an agreement for the release of the hundred hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.
“We must put an end to this abandonment of hostages (…) Tomorrow at 6am (5am Paris time), the entire Israeli economy will be on general strike,” declared the head of the Histadrut, Arnon Bar-David, at a press conference on Sunday.
“At 8am, the airport will be closed, takeoffs and landings will cease,” added a statement from the Histadrut. The Lev cinema chain announced that it would close its theaters in “support” of the families of the hostages. Several restaurant chains also announced that they would close their doors this Sunday evening.
“You abandoned them!”
The Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons, also known as “Bring Them Home Now”, has called on Israeli society to demonstrate on Sunday, September 1.
“You abandoned them! Their blood is on your hands. You could have saved them, they were alive. By voting against the agreement, you sealed their fate!” writes the Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons on X.
“We will no longer stand idly by! We will not allow more hostages to pay the price of abandonment!” it added.
The association is therefore calling for a rally starting at 7pm local time (6pm Paris time) in Tel Aviv to demand “a total blockade of the country and an agreement for the release of the hostages”. “It has been eleven months that (the) hostages have been neglected”, the collective insists.
Thousands of people are already demonstrating in Jerusalem and have taken to the streets in “support of the families of the hostages,” the Forum of Families of Hostages and the Missing said.
“We need to reach an agreement”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid also called on the Histadrut, municipalities and employers to go on a “general strike” on his Facebook page.
“They were alive,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “and his cabinet of death decided not to save them. There are still hostages alive, we can still get an agreement,” added Yair Lapid.
The opposition leader was referring to a cabinet vote Thursday endorsing an Israeli condition set as a prerequisite for a deal that Hamas and Egypt reject outright.
“We need to reach an agreement, that’s the most important thing,” Arnon Bar-David insisted on Sunday, deploring the fact that the situation “is not progressing because of political considerations. And that is unacceptable.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called for “an immediate cabinet meeting to reverse this decision,” referring to the cabinet vote last Thursday.
“It is too late for the hostages who were killed in cold blood, we must bring back the hostages who are still in the hands of Hamas,” he continued.
In the unprecedented attacks carried out by Hamas in Israel on October 7, 251 people were abducted and taken to the Palestinian territory. 97 are still being held in Gaza, including 33 declared dead by the army.
Juliette Brossault with AFP
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