A new march by the families of the prisoners and their sympathizers started from the Gaza Strip and reached Beit Shemesh near West Jerusalem (Reuters)
Israelis demonstrated on Friday in front of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, demanding US President Joe Biden to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a prisoner exchange deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
Anatolia News Agency said that the demonstrators carried banners, some of which read: “Mr. Biden, help us save them and return them all home immediately,” referring to Israelis detained by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
A number of family members of the Israeli prisoners and their sympathizers participated in the protest.
In parallel, a march began on the outskirts of occupied Jerusalem, starting from the Re'im settlement on the Gaza Strip, to demand that the Israeli government return the prisoners. The demonstrators arrived in Beit Shemesh, 30 kilometers from West Jerusalem, noting that the organizers said that the protest would continue for 4 days.
Netanyahu's government estimates the number of prisoners remaining with the Palestinian factions in Gaza at about 130, but it is likely that some of them were killed.
Dozens of Israelis from the families of prisoners detained in Gaza demonstrated yesterday evening, Thursday, at the entrance of the Israeli Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv in conjunction with a meeting of the War Council and the mini-ministerial council at the Ministry of Defense headquarters.
The demonstrators closed one of the main streets at the site, and demanded that members of the War Council conclude an exchange deal that would guarantee the release of all prisoners.
Israeli police intervened to disperse anti-war protesters in West Jerusalem (Anatolia Agency)
Anti-war demonstration
On the other hand, today, Friday, dozens of Israelis demonstrated in West Jerusalem, demanding an end to the war on Gaza. The Israeli police arrested two people who participated in the demonstration called for by the “Free Jerusalem” organization.
The left-wing Israeli organization published on the “X” platform a picture of members of the Israeli police assaulting the demonstrators.
The protesters carried banners reading “Stop the war now” and “Stop ethnic cleansing now.” They also raised a banner with the number “30” written on it, referring to the number of martyrs in the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza since last October, which exceeded 30,000. .
The "Jerusalem Free" organization said in a post on the "X" platform that its activists demonstrated against what it called the criminal war on Gaza.
“Our government must stop immediately,” the post read. “The people of Gaza deserve life, food, security, freedom, and happiness. Everyone from the river to the sea deserves a better future.”
This demonstration is one of the rare anti-war protests in Israel, as opinion polls indicate that a large majority of Israelis support the war on Gaza.
Source: Al Jazeera + Anadolu Agency