Hostage protests escalate as negotiations, IDF progress appear stalled

Protests and actions for the hostages have been ramping up in recent weeks, growing in number and intensity as hostage negotiations faltered and the IDF pulled out of southern Gaza, leading many to ask what is being done to bring the hostages home.

“The war has been waged at a low intensity for a long time while all the military achievements are undone without reaching the goals of the war – a hostage deal and ensuring the future of the state of Israel,” said protest organization The Day After.

“In two weeks we will celebrate Remembrance Day and Independence Day, and the thought of the ministers in the government of neglect, who are preventing a hostage deal, walking into cemeteries full of our friends, who fell defending the country, with their heads held high is unimaginable.”

Placing extreme pressure on the government

“We have stopped playing nice,” they said. “Whoever abandons the hostages and our future will be met with significant and fierce nonviolent resistance,” the organization added.

“This government is not doing everything it can to win the war,” said Nadav Salzberger, one of the leaders of protest organization The Change Generation.

“There is no Rafah operation, it has been dragging on for months. There is no serious discussion of the day after in Gaza, and Hamas is enjoying this neglect as it allows them to return to places in Gaza the IDF had cleared. This government, through inaction, is going to allow the return of Hamas to power in Gaza,” he said.

Numerous protests, rallies, and installations took place in the lead up to, and during Passover, including the night of the Seder, with more planned.

Jerusalem protest leads to arrest

Four were arrested in Jerusalem Wednesday night at protests that broke out after Hamas released a video of Goldberg-Polin in captivity, led by Goldberg-Polin’s friends. Protests also broke out in Tel Aviv, where protesters blocked Begin Road.

The protests in Jerusalem were exceptionally intense, with many clashes between protesters and police as frustrations ran high. Protesters shot fireworks, spilled red paint on Aza Street and lit a bonfire near police barricades.

Of those arrested, two were released without conditions, and two were released on bail and required to attend further hearings if such are held, according to Smadar Lahav Evenstein from the Legal Assistance for Protesters organization.

One protester, charged with attacking a police officer, was released after footage surfaced showing the officer pulling the protester towards him, before tripping and falling, said Evenstein. Those arrested were assisted pro-bono by organization lawyer Eric Bukatman.

“It was a very charged protest,” said Evenstein. “We are seeing more and more that, even without real cause for arrest, police are asking to extend detainments,” she said. “The police are not meant to punish, that is the court’s job.”

Dozens gathered for a prayer in honor of Hersh Goldberg-Polin at the hostage families’ Jerusalem tent near Paris square, led by Goldberg-Polin’s community Thursday morning. They gathered “in prayer for the return of Hersh together with all the hostages.”

Also Thursday morning, Hundreds of protesters and family members of hostages blocked Shaul Hamelech Street near the Kirya military headquarters as the cabinet was scheduled to meet there.

The families also blocked the entrance to the Kirya, setting up chairs across one of the roads into the base. “No one will leave here without a decision on a hostage deal,” said Mor Korngold, brother of hostage Tal Shoham, at the protest.

Shai and Roni Elbag, sisters of hostage Liri Albag, addressed the cabinet from the protest. “We demand that you be brave and accept the deal that is on the table,” they said. “Stop dragging your feet and be brave and accept any deal that there is.”

Protesters gathered in the Gaza Envelope for a “march for life and against war” Thursday afternoon. Organizations also called for protesters to gather outside the Kirya Thursday evening for a march for the hostages.

Protest organizations called to gather Friday afternoon outside of the Rosh Ha’ayin home of Minister-without-portfolio and war cabinet member Benny Gantz, urging him to leave the government. “How long does it take to do the right thing?” organizations asked in the call to join the protest. “Gantz, it is time. Leave the government.”

“Every moment you spend in this government is a moment you help it escape responsibility,” they said.

Additional protests for the hostages are planned for Saturday night at locations across the country including Jerusalem, Haifa, and Tel Aviv.