As ministers meet, protesters block roads in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, urge hostage deal
As war and security cabinets convene, dozens block road near Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, march from PMO to Knesset in Jerusalem; stand in way of cars escorting two ministers
Protesters in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv rallied Sunday evening to demand a deal to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, as the war cabinet, followed by the security cabinet, met to deliberate the ongoing negotiations.
An Israeli delegation had been said to be ready to travel to Doha for further talks on the widely reported proposal on Saturday, but the two forums needed to approve Israel’s position in the negotiations — the three-member war cabinet and the broader security cabinet — had yet to convene to discuss the matter.
Finally meeting on Sunday night, the security cabinet was said to have approved the departure of the Israeli negotiating delegation Monday for the talks.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied claims he was delaying calling the meetings due to alleged opposition to the deal by far-right elements in the government.
In Tel Aviv on Sunday evening, dozens of protesters blocked Begin Street near the Defense Ministry headquarters and recited the names of captives still held in Gaza.
At the same time, dozens marched down Ruppin Street in Jerusalem from Netanyahu’s office — where the two cabinets met — to the Knesset building.
Police refrained from intervening in the march as protesters partially blocked the road, chanting that the hostages’ time had run out.
לקראת ישיבת הקבינט: בני משפחות חטופים מפגינים בת"א סמוך לקריה ובירושלים סמוך למקום ישיבת הקבינט@eli_hirschmann pic.twitter.com/9XG8Rn2Irg
— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) March 17, 2024
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who was at the Knesset at the time of the protests, was forced to make his way to Netanyahu’s office by foot due to the disruptions, the Ynet news site reported.
Earlier during the demonstration in the capital, protesters attempted to block cars escorting Likud ministers Avi Dichter and Miri Regev from entering the premises of the Prime Minister’s Office for the security cabinet meeting.
The demonstrators were led by family members of the hostages, including Ayala Metzger, the daughter-in-law of 80-year-old Yoram Metzger, who has been held in Gaza along with 129 others since October 7.
Metzger’s mother-in-law Tamar Metzger was released from captivity as part of a partial hostage deal between Israel and Hamas during November’s weeklong ceasefire.
Yifat Calderon, the cousin of hostage Ofer Calderon, told protesters in Jerusalem that “Netanyahu has forgotten that he is the prime minister of 134 hostages left behind.”
“These hours are critical. We have to move forward and make a deal. Bring them home,” she said, warning that the innocent captives would “come back in coffins” if an agreement wasn’t reached soon.
המוחים חוסמים את הרכב של השרה מירי רגב בכניסה לישיבת הקבינט בירושלים@eli_hirschmann pic.twitter.com/8FsJ4BSp06
— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) March 17, 2024
At weekly protests demanding a hostage deal and elections in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Saturday night, police used force to disperse the dozens of demonstrators blocking roads with horses, water cannons, and physical removal, though they made only a few arrests.
Planned talks in Qatar on Monday would mark the first time both Israeli officials and Hamas leaders joined the indirect negotiations since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan last week. Mediators had hoped to secure a six-week truce before Ramadan, but Hamas refused any deal that wouldn’t lead to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, a demand Israel flatly rejects.
A source told Reuters at the weekend that the Qatar discussions will cover the remaining gaps delaying a deal between Israel and Hamas, including the number of Palestinian prisoners who could potentially be released in exchange for the remaining Israeli hostages, as well as humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The talks would mark the first time both Israeli officials and Hamas leaders joined the indirect negotiations since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan earlier this week. Mediators had hoped to secure a six-week truce before then, but Hamas refused any deal that wouldn’t lead to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, a demand Israel flatly rejects.
In recent days, Hamas gave mediators a new proposal for a three-stage plan that would end the fighting, according to two Egyptian officials.
The first stage would be a six-week temporary ceasefire that would include the release of 35 hostages — women, those who are ill and older people — being held by terrorists in Gaza in exchange for 350 Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel. Hamas would also release at least five female soldiers in exchange for 50 prisoners, including some serving long sentences on terror charges, for each soldier. Israeli forces would withdraw from two main roads in Gaza, let displaced Palestinians return to north Gaza and allow the free flow of aid to the area, the officials said.
In the second phase, the two sides would declare a permanent ceasefire and Hamas would free the remaining living hostages in exchange for more prisoners, the officials said. In the third phase, Hamas would hand over the bodies it’s holding in exchange for Israel lifting the blockade of Gaza and allowing reconstruction to start, the officials said.
Israel has adamantly ruled out a permanent ceasefire, and insists it will resume its declared goal of destroying Hamas once any hostage-truce deal is carried out. On Friday, Netanyahu slammed Hamas’s latest demands as “absurd,” but still agreed in principle to send negotiators to Qatar for more talks.
The war began on October 7 with Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel in which terrorists rampaged through the south, murdering some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 253.
It is believed that 130 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released prior to that. Three hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 11 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military.
The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 32 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza. One other person has been listed as missing since October 7, and their fate is still unknown.
Hamas has also been holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
