Dozens of Israelis arrested at protests for a truce deal
Police in Israel have arrested dozens of people in Tel Aviv and West Jerusalem after clashing with protesters calling for a deal to secure the release of the remaining captives held in Gaza, according to Israeli media.
The clashes took place after protesters blocked roads and lit fires outside the headquarters of Netanyahu’s Likud party in Tel Aviv, Ynet News reported.
Protesters in Jerusalem, meanwhile, breached barriers near Netanyahu’s residence and lit a bonfire on the street, the Channel 12 broadcaster reported. Police responded by meting out “considerable violence”, The Times of Israel reported, saying the officers “threw people to the ground, seemingly at random” and dragged them away forcibly.
Police members detain a person during a demonstration calling for the immediate return of captives held in Gaza near Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, September 2
US sending ‘mixed messages’ on blame for failure to reach ceasefire deal: Analyst
More from the professor of Israel studies and political science at UCLA, Dov Waxman, who spoke to Al Jazeera earlier about the possibility of Netanyahu agreeing to a deal for a ceasefire and return of the captives from Gaza.
Waxman said Biden’s most recent comment critical of Netanyahu for not agreeing to a ceasefire with Hamas showed there were “mixed messages” coming out of the White House on the reasons a deal had not been reached.
“President Biden’s comment is somewhat contradicted by his own Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who in a recent visit publicly said that Netanyahu had accepted the deal and that all the onus was on Hamas,” Waxman said.
“So I think there is some mixed messages coming out of the Biden administration. I think the president does want to clearly increase the pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu to accept a deal but that kind of statement is unlikely to work to really convince Netanyahu to change his position,” Waxman said.
“So much hinged on reaching this ceasefire-hostage deal, not only for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip but also for the wider region because, of course, it’s not just a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that a hostage deal would bring about. But also a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah,” he said.
“There is the real potential for that already volatile situation to escalate into a wider war. So much depends on the ability to reach this agreement but I think it is very unlikely,” he added.
Thousands of Israelis protest to demand truce deal
Thousands of people took to the streets of cities in Israel calling for the immediate return of captives held in Gaza. The protesters in West Jerusalem gathered near Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence with coffins.
Demonstrators in Tel Aviv blocked streets and lit bonfires
Dozens of people were arrested as police clashed with protesters near Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem and near his Likud party headquarters in Tel Aviv.
