It is Israel’s largest trade union Histadrut that has called for the general strike. The trade union, with around 800,000 members, wants to paralyze the Israeli economy in protest against the government. Histadrut organizes workers in a number of sectors, everything from health to finance. The umbrella organization MAI, which represents the companies that account for around 90 percent of Israel’s industrial production, has also joined the strike. The management of 200 private companies have given their employees time off so that they can demonstrate. Mayor Ron Huldai in Tel Aviv has done the same. Opposition leader Yair Lapid has also come out hard against the government and asked Israelis to show their protest through the strike. At the main Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, incoming flights are allowed to land, while outgoing flights must wait for the two hours the general strike lasts. Road blockades have been announced in Jerusalem. Travelers at Ben Gurion Airport had to be patient. Photo: GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP Pressure increases on Netanyahu The purpose of the strike is to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the government to enter into an agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, in order to bring home the remaining Israeli hostages. At the weekend, half a million people were out in the streets of several Israeli cities, to show their anger and grief after the news that came on Saturday: six Israeli hostages had been found dead in an underground tunnel under Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip. – Jews are murdered in the tunnels in Gaza. An agreement is important is something else. Instead of an agreement, we get body bags, said Histadrut leader Arnon Bar-David on Sunday. – I have come to the conclusion that only our intervention can shake those who need to be shaken, said Bar-David. The government asks the attorney general and the court to intervene The government asks Israelis to ignore the strike calls. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads a far-right religious party, asked the Israeli attorney general at the weekend to go to court to block the general strike. Smotrich believes the strike lacks a legal basis and will have major negative economic consequences. In addition, he claims it will be an advantage for Hamas in the ongoing conflict. Disagreement over cause of death The Israeli Ministry of Health stated on Sunday that the hostages were shot “at close range”. Forensic investigations estimate that the hostages were killed between 48 and 72 hours before they were autopsied, i.e. either Thursday or Friday, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health. Hamas, for its part, denies that the hostages were executed and claims they were killed during an Israeli airstrike, which the Israeli Defense Forces again denies. Of the 251 hostages taken during the Hamas attack on October 7, 97 have still not been released or retrieved. The Israeli Defense Forces believe they know that 33 of the 97 are dead, writes the AFP news agency. A Hamas official told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that some of the six who were found dead were on the exchange list during a ceasefire. This information has not been verified by an independent third party. Despite months of negotiations, Israel and Hamas have still not agreed on a new deal that involves a ceasefire and the release of the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Listen to the podcast: Published 02.09.2024, at 08.52 Updated 02.09.2024, at 10.07
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The general strike begins in Israel to pressure the government to conclude a ceasefire – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
