Protest in Kaplan street on Sunday night, September 1st
Almog Sarusi, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, and Hersh Goldberg-Polin were brutally murdered by Hamas a few days ago, after surviving for nearly a year in the tunnels of Gaza. They were killed by their captors as the Israeli army seemed to be closing in on the tunnel where they were being held. These executions tragically confirm what the hostages’ families have been saying for months: the only way to save the remaining hostages is through a negotiated deal. The broad outlines of this deal negotiated in recent weeks have been, according to intermediaries involved in the discussions, accepted by a Hamas significantly weakened by recent IDF operations. All of Israel’s top security officials – from Mossad, Shin Bet and the army – have urged the government to accept the deal. However, in its last meeting, the government rejected this principle, adding a new clause that the army retains control of the Philadelphi Route – the border between Gaza and Egypt – against the wishes of the army and the defense minister Yoav Gallant, who do not consider this condition essential to Israel’s security and prioritize the release of the hostages. Once again, Netanyahu has chosen to sacrifice the hostages to avoid a government crisis that would inevitably lead to new elections.
Sunday night, hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets to demand that the government accept this deal NOW, the hostages could no longer wait. Today, Monday, the country’s main institutions, led by the Histadrut union, are calling for a general strike. It is time to save the hostages! There can be no true victory without the return of the last living hostages. It is imperative that this government, which has proven incapable of crafting a strategy for the post-war period, presents a clear political vision for the future management of Gaza. There is no shortage of plans, thanks to the determined involvement of the United States and the Sunni countries at peace with Israel, who are at the forefront of efforts to end this conflict.
We stand with the Israeli protesters and also call for the Netanyahu government to accept the deal to free the hostages. Bringing them back alive is not only in line with the values on which Israel was founded and with Jewish ethics, but it is also a strategic necessity for the future of the country. Israeli civil society is mobilizing in an exemplary way. Friends of Israel, Jewish or not, must stand by its side
