Protesters marched to Netanyahu’s residence to demand a prisoner exchange deal
Several hundred Israelis in central West Jerusalem marched towards the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent days to protest against the lack of action on a kidnapped Israeli soldier for a swap with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as per local media outlets. The Israeli daily newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, described that protestors convened in Agranat Square to march to the residence of Netanyahu, urging the government to seal the prisoner exchange deal.
Marching around the clock carrying placards with various messages, the demonstrators said, ‘Netanyahu is bringing them back alive’, pointing to the Israeli captives in Gaza. Israeli families of the hostages, as well as the general population and political structure of the country, have accused Netanyahu of not bringing their loved ones back due to promising more conditions and challenges.
At the beginning of June, US President Joe Biden described a deal suggested by Israel as an opportunity to “stop the fighting and liberate all hostages. “ However, Netanyahu added new conditions to the plan that both Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Mossad Chief David Barnea attributed to distortion of negotiations. Such conditions included barring Palestinian fighters from moving from the south of the strip to the north and searching the returning people at the Netzarim crossing, keeping the soldiers of the Israeli army at the Philadelphia Corridor, where Israel established full control by May 29.
In a bid to liberate the prisoners and reopen the Gaza shore to civilians, for several months, the mediators consisting of the United States, Qatar and Egypt, have been mediating between Israel and Hamas, intending to attain a deal that will involve the swap of the prisoners and a halt to the continuous attacks. However, attempts at negotiating cease-fires have been marred by the following major issues because Netanyahu has not agreed to the Palestinian demand for cease-fires.
Apart from the current situation in Gaza, Netanyahu has also faced a lot of pressure regarding his legal reform plan. Demonstrations against his anti-judicial reform measures seen to compromise the Higher Courts and make ways for corruption started in February 2023. This, having been occasioned by the never-ending war in Gaza, has made Netanyahu’s challenges even harder, with thousands of people calling for his boycott.
The war has caused more than 38,800 Palestinians’ deaths, the majority of which are women and children; 89,400 others have also been injured. The military operations of Israel have thoroughly destroyed Gaza and left the strip starved of the necessary resources such as water and food and lack of electricity and medical supplies.
Israel entered the dock on charges of genocide and has been duly served with an International Court of Justice order to immediately cease military operations in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians have fled before the invasion that began on May 6.
The increasing pressure from internal and foreign entities underscores that ending the conflict and restoring order in Middle Eastern nations is necessary.
