Ann Arbor – The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that tens of thousands of Israelis rallied May 4 against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv and other cities, including Jerusalem, Beersheba and Haifa.
The protesters were responding in part to dueling news releases about the possibility of a breakthrough in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Cairo. Al Jazeera reports that a Qatari team was working on technical details of a proposal, which is usually a sign of movement in the negotiations. President Biden sent CIA Director William Burns to Egypt in case there were positive developments. The Hamas delegation in Cairo said that some progress has been made. UK sources said that a proposal was put forward “that would halt Israel’s war on Gaza for 40 days and exchange captives for Palestinian prisoners.” Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan told Al Jazeera, “It’s clear that we are moving forward. There are some good points.” But Hamas wants a pledge that Israel would not invade Rafah, which Netanyahu rejects. The Israeli government has not returned negotiators to Cairo. Netanyahu’s rejectionionism is infuriating the families of the hostages.
Hamas holds about 100 Israeli hostages, along with the bodies of 30 more who have died while captive. Israel routinely arrests Palestinians arbitrarily and holds them without charge, so there are in effect thousands of Palestinian hostages in Israeli custody. To be fair, some of the prisoners Hamas wants released were convicted of acts of terrorism.
Families of Israeli hostages joined the Tel Aviv protesters, blasting Netanyahu for its refusal to do a deal with Hamas. They said that Hamas had agreed to the deal but that Netanyahu was once again trying to undermine the talks.
Some demonstrators demanded new elections, while others insisted on a hostage exchange deal. Thousands gathered in Tel Aviv at the Kaplan-Begin intersection, which has been designated by the municipality “Democracy Square.” They called for immediate new elections even as the street was cut off by the police. Another demonstration was held for the families of the hostages and of Israelis detained in Tel Aviv. They said that “Hamas has indicated its agreement on a deal, but Netanyahu is once again trying to undermine the sole chance to save them, hiding behind ‘a high political source.’” They were referring to reports that the anonymous source in the Israeli government throwing cold water on the possibility of a breakthrough in negotiations with reporters is actually just Netanyahu himself.
The hostage families added, “the Israeli people want the hostages returned alive and agree with paying the price, but Netanyahu prefers his political alliance with [extremists] Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.” They said, “If the price for the return of the hostages is stopping the war, the it must be stopped immediately.”
Many hostage families are afraid that an invasion of Rafah will kill the hostages.
The leader of the opposition, Yair Lapid, attended the demonstration in Tel Aviv and said, “There is nothing called victory without a deal and the return of the hostages. Instead of all the stupid messages released by ‘a political source,’ Netanyahu must send a negotiating team ... to Cairo and say to them that they must not return without a deal and the return of the hostages.”
He added, “There is no other mission, or anything else to do. Yesh Atid made promises and will implement them and we will be a complete safety net for the completion of this deal.” “Yesh Atid” or “There is a Future” is the centrist political party that Lapid leads.
Hundreds of people demonstrated outside the prime minister’s residence in Caesarea, demanding elections. Others rallied at the Karkur intersection on route 65 for a hostage exchange deal.
More thousands of protesters came out in Jerusalem, Beersheba, Netanya, Ra’anana and elsewhere to demand a hostage exchange deal.
At the same time, the Religious Zionism and Jewish Power leaders demanded an immediate Israeli invasion of Rafah, according to Arab 48. Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich supported Netanyahu and his decision not to send negotiators to Cairo. They emphasized that Israel’s priority must be to continue the war and to invade the region of Rafah in Gaza rather than a deal that might lead to the release of the Israelis held by Hamas.
Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, “Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires” and “Engaging the Muslim World.” He blogs at juancole.com, follow him at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page
From The Progressive Populist, June 15, 2024
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