Hundreds of Israelis protest in Jerusalem, demand prisoner exchange deal with Hamas

By Said Amori

JERUSALEM (AA) - Hundreds of Israelis protested in Jerusalem on Thursday, marching towards Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence to demand a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas in Gaza, local media reported.

The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that hundreds of Israelis gathered in Agranat Square in West Jerusalem and marched towards Netanyahu’s residence to pressure the government into finalizing a prisoner exchange deal.

“Netanyahu is responsible for bringing them back alive,” the demonstrators chanted, referring to the Israeli prisoners in Gaza.

Families of the hostages and the Israeli public, along with the political system, blame Netanyahu for failing to reach a deal to bring back the captives, citing additional conditions and obstacles he has imposed.

In early June, US President Joe Biden presented a deal proposed by Israel to “halt the fighting and release all hostages.” However, Netanyahu added new conditions, which Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Mossad Chief David Barnea deemed “obstructive” to reaching a deal.

Among Netanyahu’s conditions were preventing the return of “Palestinian militants” from southern Gaza to the north, searching returnees at the Netzarim checkpoint, and maintaining the army’s presence at the Philadelphi Corridor, which was fully controlled by the Israeli army on May 29.

For months, mediation efforts led by the US, Qatar, and Egypt have aimed to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas that ensures a prisoner exchange from both sides and a cease-fire that guarantees the entry of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.

However, these efforts have been hindered by Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’s demands to stop the war.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

More than 38,800 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 89,400 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio

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