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Israeli demonstrations against government policies gaining momentum
It’s of note [that] Yair Lapid, the opposition leader in Israel, attended the demonstration in Tel Aviv this evening. He had also called on Benny Gantz to resign from the war cabinet if Prime Minister Netanyahu [didn’t] start doing more to secure the release of captives being held in Gaza.
Beyond that, you have these demonstrations gathering momentum. I was at one just two weeks ago in Tel Aviv – when we could still report out of Israel. I saw thousands of people coming out.
Antigovernment demonstrators are calling on Netanyahu to resign, saying he’s trying to prolong the war so he can stay in office longer. However, Netanyahu is feeling the most amount of pressure from the far-right flank of his governing coalition.
I’m talking about far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who have for months now said [that] if Netanyahu doesn’t go full force into Rafah, they will walk away from the government.
Thousands of people have been attending weekly protests organised by family members and supporters of Israeli captives held in Gaza
Water cannon, arrests as Israeli police disperse protests in Tel Aviv
Families of Israeli captives urge government to dispatch negotiators
The families renewed their appeal for negotiations following the Israeli military’s announcement of the recovery of a body of a fourth captive from Gaza.
Some “128 hostages have been waiting to be released and return to Israel for 225 long days and nights already. The Israeli government must focus on the only mission that matters – to dispatch negotiation teams this very evening and fight for their return home”, the Families Forum said in a post on X.
“Those alive should be returned for rehabilitation, and those murdered should be brought back for a dignified burial, as was made possible for Ron Benjamin this evening.”
The Families Forum bows its head and mourns upon receiving the difficult news of the murder of Ron Benjamin by Hamas terrorists, and the taking of his body to Gaza as a hostage.
Returning his body to Israel is a sacred mission that allows his family to grant him eternal rest in… pic.twitter.com/yJLakxzmBM
— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) May 18, 2024
