Calling for hostage release deal, families and supporters block Tel Aviv highway
Protesters standing in Ayalon Highway unfurl banner depicting three members of war cabinet and declaring that reaching an agreement ‘is on you’
Family members of the hostages and their supporters blocked a main Tel Aviv highway during rush hour Wednesday morning in a protest calling on the government to reach a deal to free the captives being held by the Palestinian terror group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Demonstrators unfurled a sign with pictures of members of the war cabinet that read: “It’s on you, don’t come back from Qatar without a deal.”
The three members of the war cabinet, which was formed to oversee the conflict, are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Minister Benny Gantz, who brought his opposition National Unity party into the government as a wartime emergency measure. MK Aryeh Deri, MK Gadi Eisenkot, and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer act as observers in the forum.
Protesters blocked the northbound lane of the Ayalon Highway near the LaGuardia Interchange for some 15 minutes before dispersing.
The demonstration came as Israeli negotiators are in Qatar for talks via mediators to reach a temporary ceasefire deal in the fighting that would include the release of hostages abducted from Israel in Hamas’s massive attack of October 7, which started the war.
Among those who reportedly participated in the protest were Ayala Metzger, Yiftah Calderon, Shai Mozes, and Yael Or, all of whom have relatives held in Gaza.
פעילי מחאת הנשים לשחרור החטופים וכמה בני משפחות חוסמים עכשיו את איילון צפון סמוך ללה גרדיה בתל אביב pic.twitter.com/KpewXYfxFh
— Bar Peleg (@bar_peleg) March 20, 2024
Metzger, the daughter-in-law of 80-year-old Yoram Metzger, who has been held in Gaza since October 7, vowed in a statement to continue to block traffic as long as the hostages remain in Gaza.
“There will be no normal reality while Israeli civilians are languishing in Hamas captivity,” she said. “Israel cannot be the same country while they are there, the government must do everything to make sure the deal goes through.”
Calderon, a cousin of hostage Ofer Calderon, told Channel 13 that most drivers showed support for the protesters, though one did call out an insult as he drove past.
“The hostages were abandoned on October 7 and they are being abandoned now,” she said.
Meanwhile, activists calling for immediate elections demonstrated outside the homes of coalition lawmakers. Protests were held at the homes of senior Likud MK Yuli Edelstein in Herzliya, Education Minister Yoav Kisch in Hod Hasharon, and the homes of MK Gila Gamliel and Boaz Bismuth in Tel Aviv, Danny Danon in Raanana, and Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman in Rehovot.
Truce talks in Doha, mediated by hosts Qatar, along with the US and Egypt, resumed Monday night. The indirect negotiations to pause the war in Gaza and release hostages abducted on October 7 were expected to take about two weeks.
Mossad chief David Barnea, who led the Israeli delegation to the talks, returned to Israel on Tuesday and briefed the war cabinet on developments.
War erupted on October 7 when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists burst through the border from the Gaza Strip, killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 253 hostages. Israel responded with a military campaign to destroy Hamas and release the captives.
A previous deal brokered by mediators in November saw the release of 105 hostages over the course of a weeklong pause to the fighting, in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
US, Egyptian, and Qatari mediators had been hoping to reach a second deal to free hostages and halt the war before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began last week, but talks faltered.
The deal being discussed now is based on a framework reached in Paris last month for a six-week truce in Gaza and the release of some 40 children, women, elderly and sick hostages in the first phase, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners held by Israel.
There have been weekly Saturday protests in Tel Aviv calling for the government to agree on a hostage release deal. In addition, recent weeks have seen other protests calling for immediate elections.
Participants at the two rallies have sometimes merged following the main events to form a united demonstration, at times blocking the Ayalon Highway, which traverses Tel Aviv along a north-south axis and is a major artery for the region.
On Saturday, anti-government protesters blocked major roads and scuffled with police in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem during weekly protests demanding new elections and an immediate hostage deal.
