Gaza – Families of Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip began a three-day march from the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Wednesday evening, demanding a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian factions.
Before the march began, the families of the prisoners accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement of “sabotaging previous deals” to release their relatives, and called on him not to waste the current opportunity.
The statement read by the prisoner’s mother, and reported by the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, said: “There were deals on the table, and Netanyahu repeatedly thwarted them. We are now in the moment of truth regarding the deal, and we must not waste this opportunity.”
Addressing Netanyahu, the prisoner’s mother said: “We have seen you thwart one deal following another, and you will not dare break our hearts once more.”
“We are participating in the march to make sure that no one sabotages the deal,” she added.
She addressed the Israeli public, saying: “Come with us, together we will return them (the prisoners) to their homes.”
The police were accused of “harming efforts to free the kidnapped, on behalf of (extremist National Security Minister Itamar) Ben-Gvir, who opposes the deal.”
Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have previously threatened to withdraw from Netanyahu’s government if a prisoner exchange deal that would stop the war on Gaza is approved.
The distance between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem is regarding 70 km, and it takes an average of 40 minutes to drive.
Before the start of the march, in which hundreds participated, Israeli activists chanted slogans such as “Netanyahu abandoned the kidnapped, Netanyahu is unqualified, and we demand the return of the kidnapped alive.”
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, the march, which started from Begin Street in front of the Kirya, where the Defense Ministry is headquartered in Tel Aviv, is scheduled to reach Jerusalem next Saturday evening.
The first part of the march will end later on Wednesday evening, at the Beit Dagan junction, where they will spend the night before resuming it tomorrow, Thursday, according to the same source.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Hebrew website Walla reported that a meeting was held in Doha, with the participation of senior officials from the United States, Egypt, Qatar and Israel, where they discussed the chances of concluding an agreement between Israel and the factions movement to exchange prisoners and cease fire in Gaza.
He said that the meeting was attended by the Director of the American Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, the Director of the Israeli Mossad, David Barnea, the Director of Egyptian Intelligence, Abbas Kamel, and the Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
The Hebrew website did not reveal any additional details regarding the meeting, and no official comment was issued by the participating parties until 17:30 (GMT).
Egypt and Qatar are mediating between Israel and the factions movement in indirect negotiations, in an attempt to reach an agreement to exchange Israeli prisoners for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and a ceasefire in Gaza.
On Wednesday, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz described the Doha meeting in its electronic version as “decisive, as it will determine whether it is possible to reach an agreement between the factions’ movement and Israel in the coming days.”
Since October 7, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza with American support, leaving more than 126,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that has claimed the lives of dozens of children.
Tel Aviv continues the war, ignoring the UN Security Council resolutions to stop it immediately, and the International Court of Justice orders to take measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Anatolia
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2024-07-13 00:27:26