Thousands of people have taken to the streets in protest against the war policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. Pressure is also mounting on Netanyahu to ceasefire in Gaza. At the same time, US President Joe Biden also said that he needed to do more in the nearly 11-month war. After this, Netanyahu is now furious. He has clearly said that no one should tell him what to do and what not to do. In his first public statement after Sunday’s massive protests, Netanyahu said he would stick to his demand that Israel control the Philadelphia Corridor. This is a band on Gaza’s border with Egypt where Israel claims Hamas smuggles weapons into Gaza. However, Egypt and Hamas deny this. This demand has emerged as a major obstacle in the ceasefire agreement.
Netanyahu further said, “No one will preach to me on this issue. No one is trying harder than me to release the prisoners.” Israelis took to the streets late Sunday night. This was possibly the biggest protest since the beginning of the war. The families of the prisoners and most of the people have blamed Netanyahu for Hamas’ terror and said that the hostages could have been brought back alive by an agreement with Hamas. Meanwhile, Biden, who arrived at the White House for a meeting with the team mediating the peace talks, spoke to the media. When asked if Netanyahu is making enough efforts, Biden replied, “No.”
Slogans raised outside Netanyahu’s house
On Monday, people went on a massive strike across the country. Late on Monday night, thousands of protesters gathered outside Netanyahu’s private house in Central Jerusalem, raising slogans. Meanwhile, there was a scuffle between the police and the people and many protesters were arrested. According to Israeli media, thousands of people marched outside Netanyahu’s Likud party in Tel Aviv.
Where is the matter stuck
Hamas has accused Israel of dragging out the talks by issuing new demands, including permanent Israeli control over the Philadelphia Corridor and other corridors passing through Gaza. Hamas has offered to release all hostages in exchange for an end to the war, a full withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants. Netanyahu said on Monday that he was ready to complete the first phase of the ceasefire. The plan would include the release of some hostages, a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops and the release of some prisoners held by Israel, but he has refused to completely stop attacks from Gaza. He said he did not see anyone else who could control Gaza’s borders.
Rift between Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant
Meanwhile, Israeli media have also reported differences between Netanyahu and top security officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Galant. Galant says the time is right for a ceasefire. An official confirmed the spat between Galant and Netanyahu at a security cabinet meeting on Thursday, where Netanyahu voted in favor of maintaining control over the Philadelphia Corridor. Galant was the only vote against the proposal. He said Netanyahu is more interested in taking control of the border than the lives of the hostages. Khalil al-Hayya, a Hamas official leading the talks, told Qatari network Al Jazeera late Sunday that Netanyahu considered the Philadelphia Corridor more important than the release of the hostages. Israel said the six hostages found dead in Gaza were killed by Hamas shortly before Israeli forces arrived at the tunnel where they were kept.
