Israel’s labour union calls for strike over hostage deal
Mounting pressure continues to build on the Israeli government, who not only face condemnation from international actors but also growing anger from the home front.
Israel’s largest labour union, Histadrut, has called for a general strike on September 2nd, hoping to put pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to break a deal with Hamas and return the remaining Israeli hostages, reported Reuters and agencies on September 1st.
Thousands of protestors have taken to the streets after Israeli troops recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in southern Gaza. The deceased were apparently killed not long before Israeli soldiers reached them, according to a military statement.
Arnon Bar-David, head of the Histadrut union, which represents just under 800,000 workers, called the one-day general strike. Israel’s high-tech entrepreneurs and main manufacturers supported the industrial action.
The alliance of the most influential actors in the Israeli economy reflects the scale of anger over the deaths of the six hostages, among the other 250 people seized by Hamas militants in the October 7th attacks last year.
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“We are getting body bags instead of a deal,” said Bar-David at a press conference. “We must reach a deal (on the return of the surviving hostages). A deal is more important than anything else,” he added.
The union leader stated that Israel’s main air transport hub, Ben Gurion Airport, will be closed from 8 a.m. on September 2nd, along with municipal services in Israel’s economic hub, Tel Aviv.
Israel’s Manufacturer’s Association, which supports the strike, has accused the government of failing in its “moral duty” to return the hostages alive.
The association head, Ron Tomer, stated, “Without the return of the hostages we will not be able to end the war, we will not be able to rehabilitate ourselves as a society and we will not be able to begin to rehabilitate the Israeli economy,”.
Disapproval of Netanyahu’s handling has also come from inside the Knesset, where Israeli opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid also backed the general strike.
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On September 1st, thousands of protestors blocked roads in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, with demonstrations taking place outside Netanyahu’s residence.
The Hostages Families Forum, which represents many families of the hostages in Gaza, held Netanyahu responsible for the death of the six captives.
“They were all murdered in the last few days, after surviving almost 11 months of abuse, torture and starvation in Hamas captivity,” said a statement released by the group.
101 hostages are expected to be still held in Gaza, though the Israeli military believes that around 1/3rd are dead. Many hardliners in the government who support Netanyahu have refused a hostage deal on the basis that releasing Palestinian militants from Israeli prisons would ensure Hamas remain in power.
Reuters and agencies
