EXPLAINER
Groups and politicians in Israel have launched a campaign for early elections and a deal to release captives.
Several anti-government groups in Israel launched a week of resistance against the government.
They are calling for an agreement to release prisoners taken by Hamas-led groups that attacked Israel on October 7.
They are also angry with the current government’s performance and demand early elections to choose a new government.
Here’s a summary of what’s going on:
What do they plan to do?
The first in a series of protests took place in Tel Aviv on Sunday, with thousands of Israelis taking to the streets.
They blocked roads and surrounded the defense headquarters and Democracy Square – a major Tel Aviv intersection – as well as Hostage Square, a square about 500 meters (550 yards) away as the crow flies and which was famous for numerous protests calling for the return of captives.
Footage broadcast on Israeli television showed protesters lighting bonfires in the middle of highways and marching towards Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence before being stopped by police.
Who is involved?
A variety of anti-government groups that Israeli channel N12 News said included Brothers in Arms, Building an Alternative, an anti-Netanyahu collective and Pink Front held the protests in Tel Aviv on Sunday.
Joining them was a former member of the war cabinet, retired general Benny Gantz.
At least one former captive was also involved. Andrey Kozlov addressed the crowd in Hostage Square, saying: “For the hostages still in Gaza, there is one decision, just one. It is an agreement between Israel and Hamas.”
In Democracy Square, formerly part of Kaplan Street, Ayala Metzger, daughter-in-law of Yoram Metzger, who died while in captivity in Gaza, called on protesters to block roads and streets and protest in front of the homes of government ministers as part of the campaign.
Will it work?
So far, Netanyahu has shown little appetite for confronting the electorate.
Since the dismissal of Gantz and another member of his National Unity Party from the war cabinet, Netanyahu has dissolved the war cabinet and remains apparently dependent on the support of far-right and ultra-Orthodox members of his right-wing coalition government to support your government. rule.
Both among Israelis and among Israel’s allies, particularly those in Washington, DC, there is a growing suspicion that Netanyahu’s strategy may be motivated by the desire to avoid convictions for corruption. He was charged in 2019 and is on trial, although proceedings slowed down during the war in Gaza.
Even if elections are called, any vote may still be some way off, according to Eyal Lurie-Pardes of the Middle East Institute.
He feels that if Netanyahu manages to keep his coalition together until the summer holidays, electoral laws would mean that elections could not take place before March.
This month, US President Joe Biden told Time magazine that there was “every reason” to believe that Netanyahu was prolonging the war for his political benefit.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the Israeli army was unlikely to repeat the June 8 attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, in which 276 Palestinians were massacred and more than 698, while the Israeli army tried to free four prisoners. , including Kozlov.
Does this mean that the Israeli public is turning against the war?
Not a lot.
Multiple researches show that although the anti-war camp is strong in Israel, so is the pro-war camp.
However, anger over the fate of the captives and concern that Israel may not be able to meet all of its war objectives are undermining support for the war.
“I believe that the Israeli public’s support for the war may be waning, but probably not for the reasons you are thinking,” Shai Parnes, spokesman for the Israeli rights group B’Tselem, told Al Jazeera previously.
Parnes spoke of public concern about the emotional and financial toll on young Israelis doing national service, the disruptions to daily life and the emotional impact of missing prisoners, saying these are what attack Israeli minds, not the more than 37,000 people killed in Gaza.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
