Several families of Israeli detainees in Gaza staged a sit-in in Tel Aviv, blocking roads and streets to demand a prisoner exchange deal.
Other protesters blocked a major intersection southeast of Haifa and the main Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv, urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring the detainees back.
In related news, Senator Jack Reed, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, told CNN that Netanyahu has politicized the issue of the detainee exchange deal and other matters for his political interests.
He added that the Israeli military has raised serious questions about Netanyahu’s leadership, particularly concerning the end result in Gaza.
Reed expressed his belief that Netanyahu has failed to secure the release of the detainees.
He also pointed out that the Israeli military insists that Netanyahu should aim for a governing authority in Gaza other than Hamas, and that the Israeli military would be more sympathetic to a ceasefire, but without abandoning its goal of significantly deterring and weakening Hamas.
Netanyahu had shown clear contradictions through conflicting statements, affirming in his first interview with an Israeli channel since the war began on October 7, his willingness to accept a partial agreement to release some detainees and resume the war later. However, he then assured the Knesset of his commitment to the proposal announced by U.S. President Joe Biden to recover all detainees and end the war.
Popular protests are escalating in Israel, demanding the Prisoner Exchange deal, with calls expanding to include the overthrow of Netanyahu’s government, the dissolution of the Knesset, and holding early elections.
On October 7, 2023, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and other Palestinian factions in Gaza launched the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation in response to ongoing attacks by Israeli forces and settlers against the Palestinian people, their property, and holy sites, particularly the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
During the operation targeting Israeli settlements and military sites adjacent to the Gaza Strip, hundreds of Israelis were killed, some by Israeli fire, and Hamas took dozens to Gaza to exchange them for thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
source: lualuatv
