Thousands protest in Israel for second day against Netanyahu – DW – 04/02/2024

Thousands of Israelis gathered in Jerusalem for the second day in a row this Monday (04/01/2024) for a four-day march to demand elections in a country where a section of the population blames the prime minister. Benjamin NetanyahuAbout 130 hostages are still suffering in the hands of the terrorist group Hamas and the suffering of displaced families at the border.

Protesters spread across the streets in front of the Knesset (Israel's parliament) in Jerusalem, where they also set up platforms and hundreds of tents, waving flags in Israel's colors and handing out stickers reading “Out.” to the government.

“We want to hold elections, but we are increasingly weaker and weaker in this government,” Diana told EFE, an Israeli woman who attended the protest in Jerusalem, arriving with her sister from the suburb of Tel Aviv.

As more than 100,000 people took to the streets of Jerusalem against Netanyahu on Sunday, March 31, the first official day of protests, he reiterated that he was doing everything he could to bring back prisoners kidnapped by Hamas. For a while, almost six months.

“I understand the frustration and desire to do everything possible again [a los rehenes]” Netanyahu said in a televised conference before the abortion operation, and he vowed that the election would “shut down” these negotiations and only benefit Hamas.

Relatives of the hostages — more than thirty of whom are dead but whose bodies are still kept in Gaza — spoke on stage, as did the former second chief of staff. Israeli armyGeneral Yair Golan and prominent Israeli activists and others.

“A direct line connects October 7 (2023) – the day of many of Hamas's attacks – to the failures of the Gantz-Netanyahu government, key to the release of the hostages,” said Golan. soon”.

“Messianic Aspirations”

In a statement, several families of hostages are reminded Netanyahu He said “the release of prisoners is sacred” and asked the negotiating team “not to return (to Israel) without an agreement”. Other participants called Netanyahu “messianic aspirations” and accused him of not reaching a consensus for his own political survival.

Since this Monday, Israeli representatives have been negotiating in Cairo, after several weeks of stagnation, on a possible cease-fire agreement and the return of hostages, an Egyptian security source informed EFE, in which the terrorist group Hamas indirectly participates without being in the neighboring country.

Both sides' demands seem intractable, as Hamas continues to impose a “comprehensive” cease-fire in the Strip, as it has done since the beginning; In addition to the return of displaced people north of the enclave and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

For weeks, Israel He described these demands as “illusory,” but local media cited that, in this case, Israeli authorities could be more flexible due to external pressure.

Some 32,800 people have died in Gaza since the war began on October 7, 2023, more than 70% of them women and children. Also, destruction and starvation are taking over the region, and around thirty children in the north have already died of severe malnutrition, according to health data from the Hamas government.

mg (efe, Times of Israel)