As Israel Erupts in Anger, Netanyahu Spins, Lies, and Sentences the Hostages to Death

[Israeli]

Netanyahu, masking his motives with security concerns, is chiefly protecting his political position. He's working to maintain his coalition, which might unravel if a Gaza deal goes through

Haaretz
Amos Harel
Sept 3rd 2024


Sunday night's massive protests, after months in which the protests had waned as the war dragged on, gave supporters of a hostage deal new hope. Since Hamas' massacre in southern Israel on October 7, the protest organizations have had trouble recruiting the general public to their various battles, from advancing a deal to bring the hostages home from the Gaza Strip, to toppling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum feared being associated too closely with Netanyahu's opponents, but it has long since become clear that the prime minister isn't interested in a deal. And many of the people who enthusiastically joined the protests against the judicial coup before the war now find it hard to go out and protest when their relatives and friends are fighting (and sometimes being wounded) in Gaza.

The news that six hostages were murdered by their Hamas captors in a tunnel in Rafah began spreading by word of mouth early Saturday evening, while a small demonstration was taking place outside Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv. The next morning, when the Israel Defense Forces officially announced the deaths and their circumstances, anger erupted.

By Sunday evening, hundreds of thousands of people had flooded the streets of Tel Aviv and dozens of other places across the country. The crowds in Tel Aviv resembled those on the night in March 2023 when masses turned out to protest Netanyahu's firing of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. So did demonstrators' determination to block the Ayalon Highway, where traffic was disrupted for several hours.

The demonstrations continued for most of Monday, backed by the Histadrut labor federation's partial shutdown of the economy, which caused limited economic disruptions. Thousands also attended the funerals of two of the victims, Carmel Gat of Kibbutz Be'eri and Hersh Goldberg-Polin of Jerusalem, which also attracted considerable media interest overseas.

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