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Protests across Israel on Sunday put even more political pressure on embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose approval numbers among the public keep dropping and whose relationship with the Biden administration has reached an all-time low.
Israeli media reported that weekend demonstrations in Tel Aviv and elsewhere were some of the largest since Oct. 7, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas killed more than 1,200 civilians in a terrorist attack and took about 250 hostages.
More than 100 of the remaining hostages are thought to be held in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been waging war on Hamas for nearly six months.
The fact that those hostages are still in Hamas custody is fueling anger at Mr. Netanyahu, a divisive figure in Israel now in his third stint as the nation’s leader. The Times of Israel reported over the weekend that families of the Hamas hostages who had been holding their own weekly demonstrations in Tel Aviv said they now plan to join the much larger protests against the government.
The resulting scene was the largest public protest since Oct. 7, said some reporters on the ground.
“We will be in the streets. … This is the moment where we turn off the lights,” said Eli Albag, father of Hamas hostage Liri Albag, The Times of Israel reported.
Israeli media said tens of thousands of people joined the protests. In Tel Aviv, at least 16 were arrested.
“Several hundred protesters violated public order, lit bonfires, shook a police car, blocked roads and confronted the police,” Israeli police said in a post on X.
Israeli media reported that the newest round of demonstrations is expected to last four days. Some protesters plan to set up a tent city outside the Knesset in Jerusalem.
Taking the blame
Mr. Netanyahu’s government reached a deal with Hamas last year that resulted in the return of more than 100 hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a temporary pause in the fighting in Gaza.
Efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages have proved difficult despite heavy U.S. pressure to reach an agreement.
Hamas has insisted on a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. Israel, meanwhile, is eyeing a major military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where it says thousands of Hamas militants are holed up.
The U.S. and other nations say an invasion of Rafah could make the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza even worse. More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of Israel’s military campaign, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Roughly 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has been displaced.
Those figures have not been independently confirmed.
While Israel’s military seeks to crush Hamas, much of its public seems to view the safe return of hostages as the top priority. Family members of some of the hostages now blame Mr. Netanyau personally for the situation.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu, after you abandoned our families on Oct. 7 and after 176 days in which you didn’t achieve a deal [for their return], and because you are continually engaged in torpedoing a deal, we have realized that you are the obstacle to the deal. You are the obstacle,” Einav Zangauker, the mother of Hamas captive Matan Zangauker, said Saturday night in a speech in Jerusalem, according to Israeli media. “You are the one who stands between us and the return home of our loved ones.”
During a meeting with the families of the hostages last week, Mr. Netanyahu said he is doing everything he can.
“Just as we have returned 123 of our hostages as of today, I am committed to returning everyone, all of them. I will not leave anyone behind,” he said at the outset of that meeting, according to a statement from his office.
“I am personally dealing with this around the clock,” he said. “Only continuation of the forceful military pressure that we have applied, and will yet apply, will return our hostages, will return everyone.”
Data shows that fewer Israelis support Mr. Netanyahu’s handling of the situation. A survey by the Israel Democracy Institute conducted in March found that 57% of Israelis rate Mr. Netanyahu’s performance since Oct. 7 as “poor” or “very poor.” The rating is significantly lower than those of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other top Israeli officials.
Political crossfire
Before the Oct. 7 attack, Mr. Netanyahu was already on shaky political ground. He was facing severe blowback for a plan to reform elements of the judicial system. Critics said he was trying to strip power from courts to undercut corruption charges against him. Among other things, the plan would have given the nation’s governing coalition power over judicial appointments.
Despite widespread opposition to the plan, Mr. Netanyahu survived politically. The prime minister returned to power in December 2022 after working behind the scenes to whip up opposition to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and an eight-party governing alliance united almost entirely by its desire to push Mr. Netanyahu out of power. That alliance governed Israel briefly before it collapsed, paving the way for Mr. Netanyahu’s return. He was supported by a broad coalition of right-wing and ultra-religious parties.
Mr. Netanyahu’s political problems extend far beyond Israeli shores. His relationship with the U.S., or at least with the Biden administration, has reached an all-time low over the past several weeks. Two key events punctuated the deteriorating relationship.
One of Mr. Netanyahu’s key political rivals, former defense minister and Israeli wartime Cabinet member Benny Gantz, visited Washington and met with Biden administration officials despite Mr. Netanyahu’s public objections.
The White House embrace of Mr. Gantz was widely viewed as a public rebuke of Mr. Netanyahu. The Biden administration has grown increasingly frustrated with the prime minister’s handling of the war in Gaza. Critics say the civilian death toll is unacceptable.
Mr. Netanyahu maintains that the civilian suffering is the fault of Hamas.
The White House says Mr. Netanyahu’s government must change course. Mr. Biden and other top administration officials have warned Israel against any assault on Rafah before Palestinians’ safety can be assured.
The U.S.-Israel rift over the looming Rafah operation and the broader war in Gaza came to a head at the United Nations last week.
In a key U.N. Security Council vote, the U.S. refused to block a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire to the war. It was a sharp change for the U.S., which has traditionally sided with Israel in almost all major U.N. votes and has often blocked resolutions condemning Israel.
Immediately afterward, Mr. Netanyahu recalled an Israeli delegation to Washington, though that delegation’s visit has since been rescheduled, according to reports.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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