Chicago – October 08, 2024
Israel is being rocked by mass protests as popular pressure mounts on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition cabinet to secure a ceasefire deal in Gaza that would see the 90 or so remaining captives thought to remain in Gaza brought home.
A general strike, called by the powerful Histadrut union, had to be halted after the government petitioned for an injunction against the action, deeming it “political”.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have packed streets across the country in the largest demonstrations since the war on Gaza began, calling for the government to strike a deal.
From January 2023 to the Hamas-led attack of October 7 during which 1,139 people were killed and some 240 taken captive, there were widespread demonstrations against Netanyahu’s judicial changes proposal.
The proposal, if passed, would have increased his government’s power over the judiciary and, critics said, helped Netanyahu avoid corruption charges.
Despite popular opposition, in July Netanyahu’s government succeeded in passing a key reform limiting the Supreme Court’s power to overrule government decisions based on “reasonableness”.
Protests by the families of those taken on October 7 have also roiled domestic Israeli politics since the outbreak of the war on Gaza with a consistent campaign to pressure the Israeli government.
