Depth ｜ National strike, 700,000 people marching, why are Israelis angry？

On September 1, local time, a large-scale demonstration broke out in Israel, and hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to call on the government to reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas to promote the release of detainees. In the early morning of September 2, a nationwide strike initiated by the president of the Israel Federation of Labor opened, further putting pressure on the government.

It is said that this is the largest Israeli demonstration since the conflict in Gaza was delayed for nearly 11 months. Why are the Israeli people angry? Will the political life of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be affected? Can this round of protests and demonstrations become a turning point and bring dawn to the ceasefire agreement in Gaza?

What is the fuse?

On the first day of September, many angry Israelis took to the streets, shouting slogans demanding a ceasefire, holding up placards and photos of detainees.

According to Xinhua News Agency, citing the website of Israel’s Yediot Izvestia, it was reported on the evening of September 1 that 700,000 people took part in the demonstrations in the whole country, including 550,000 in Tel Aviv.

On September 2, the demonstration still did not subside. At the initiative of arnon Baal-David, president of the Israel Federation of Labor, the nationwide strike in Israel started at 6: 00 on the 2nd. The municipal departments of Tel Aviv and other cities have announced their participation in the strike, which is expected to affect schools, international airports and many private enterprises.

"A large-scale demonstration broke out in Israel in April, but this parade is different from the past and has two major characteristics: a large number of people and sweeping the whole territory."Professor Ding Long, Middle East Institute, Shanghai International Studies UniversitySay.

The direct trigger of this round of large-scale protests was the remains of six detainees found by the Israeli military in Gaza.

According to a statement issued by the Israeli army on the morning of the 1st, the remains of the detainees were found in an underground tunnel in Rafah, a city in the south of the Gaza Strip. It is estimated that they died a few days before being found. This news caused strong dissatisfaction throughout Israel.

In Tel Aviv, the families and supporters of the hostages marched with six prop coffins and gathered in front of the Israeli military headquarters. In Rehovot, central Israel, demonstrators blocked traffic and shouted, "We want them back alive, not in coffins!"

Last October, about 250 people were taken back to Gaza by Palestinian militants such as Hamas and detained. At present, about 100 people are still in Gaza. Israel estimates that about one third of them may have died.

In response to the public’s anger, Netanyahu subsequently issued a statement saying that the Israeli government and himself are committed to continuing to seek a ceasefire agreement in order to release all detainees and ensure the safety of Israelis. He also said that Israel will not stop until the murderer is caught. "Those who kill the hostages are those who are unwilling to reach a ceasefire agreement."

Senior officials in Hamas said that Israel refused to sign a ceasefire agreement and should be responsible for these deaths.

Why are people angry?

Public opinion believes that the Israeli people took to the streets not only to express their grief over the death of the hostages, but also to vent their strong dissatisfaction with the government.

On the one hand, large-scale demonstrations reflect the war-weariness of the Israeli people.

Ding Long said that the Gaza conflict has been going on for nearly 11 months, but the Israeli people can’t see the end of the war. When Israel launched its military operations, it set three major goals: to let the detained people go home, to destroy Hamas and to demilitarize the Gaza, but none of these goals were achieved.

In addition, the war has had a great impact on Israel’s economy and people’s livelihood. "It can be said that Israel has never faced such a serious threat of economic collapse since the founding of the People’s Republic of China."

Ding Long said that Israel not only competes with Hamas in the Gaza, but also has conflicts of different scales with Iran and several militia groups, leaving Israel in an insecure and unstable state. This not only damages Israel’s logistics, transportation, production and other aspects, but also drains a large number of high-end talents. Israel is no longer a safe country for external investors and talents.

On the other hand, the parade also showed people’s deep disappointment with the Israeli government and politicians.

In the eyes of many people and opposition parties, Netanyahu launched military action under the banner of national security, but in fact he adopted delaying tactics to prolong his political life and "kidnapped" the whole country and people for personal political self-interest, which made it impossible for people to return to China and cease fire.

"It is expected that before the first anniversary of the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict on October 7, demonstrations will be staged every weekend, and the scale may be further expanded." Ding Long said.

Expose internal differences

From the outside world, a large number of Israeli people took to the streets, exposing the tear of Israeli public opinion.

Although many people’s dissatisfaction with the government is deepening, Dante Long also pointed out that there are still quite a few people who are silent and still support the Israeli military operations against Hamas, Iranian and Houthi armed forces.

At the same time, the differences within the Israeli government are becoming more and more open.

On the same day that people demonstrated and Netanyahu continued to take a tough stance, Israeli Defense Minister galante called for an agreement to release the detainees as soon as possible, and "time is running out". He said that in order to reach an agreement, it is necessary to change the decision to keep troops in the "Philadelphia Corridor" and called for an emergency cabinet meeting.

The "Philadelphia Corridor" refers to a long and narrow strip with a length of about 14 kilometers between the Gaza Strip and the Egyptian border, which serves as a military buffer zone. Hamas asked Israel to withdraw its troops from the Philadelphia Corridor, but Israel insisted on not withdrawing, which became one of the main reasons for the deadlock in the ceasefire negotiations between the two sides.

It is reported that galante had previously accused Netanyahu of giving priority to stationing troops in the Philadelphia Corridor, which was tantamount to sentencing all Israeli detainees to death.

Can the anger of the people and the discord in the government endanger Netanyahu’s political life?

Ding Long said that since the new round of conflict between Palestine and Israel broke out last year, there have been many crises in the Israeli government. The confrontation between war-weary and militant factions is fierce, the cabinet has collapsed during the war, and even serious differences have emerged within the military. Some senior Israeli generals have different views and positions from the official.

Dante Long pointed out that from the current situation, Israel’s warring factions and the extreme right wing are probably more powerful. No matter the political disputes in Israel or the fierce collision of opinions, "it will not threaten the continued administration of Netanyahu’s government, nor will it lead to the collapse of the Israeli cabinet and the early arrival of the general election."

How far is the ceasefire?

While the Israeli streets were plunged into mass protests, there was some calm in Gaza.

Israel and Hamas had previously agreed to start a temporary ceasefire on September 1st, and to vaccinate about 640,000 children under the age of 10 in Gaza with polio vaccine. There will be a three-day ceasefire in central, southern and northern Gaza, and if necessary, the ceasefire time in each area will be extended by one day.

However, the Israeli government stressed that Israel only opened "humanitarian corridors" and "safe areas" for vaccination in a specific period of time. Israel’s specific measures are not equal to a "comprehensive ceasefire."

According to public opinion, vaccines are important for children in Gaza, but the urgent task is to stop fighting. Since the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out, Israeli military operations in Gaza have caused more than 40,000 Palestinian deaths, including many women and children.

However, since the new round of Gaza ceasefire talks resumed in Qatar on August 15th, the talks have made limited progress. The Israeli side has said that the negotiations have failed to make progress; Hamas said that "the negotiations are going to break down".

At present, the latest round of negotiations has ended, but the negotiations are still continuing through other channels. According to a person familiar with the matter, on September 1st, US President Biden is considering proposing a final plan for a ceasefire agreement with Hamas within a few days. American officials admitted that the deaths of these six people complicated the already difficult negotiation process and increased the sense of urgency of Biden’s administration.

Is it possible to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza in the near future under internal and external pressure? Can this round of demonstrations be a turning point?

In this regard, Dahlia Scheindlin, an expert on Israeli public opinion, believes that if the large-scale strike continues and the whole country of Israel comes to a standstill, those people with social influence or political leaders can also support it, which may prompt Netanyahu to change his policy.

Dante Long is pessimistic. He believes that protests cannot affect the overall trend of Israeli politics, and naturally it is difficult to influence the progress of ceasefire negotiations.

"As far as the current negotiations are concerned, Israel is fundamentally lacking in sincerity, so the hope of negotiation is slim." Ding Long believes that although Israel has not let the negotiations collapse under the mediation of the United States, Qatar and Egypt, it always puts forward new demands at critical moments and uses some details to drag down and spoil the negotiations. For Israel’s practice, the United States did not uphold justice and failed to really put pressure on Israel to make strategic concessions.

"Now, there is more than one month left before the conflict in Gaza is over one year, and there are more than two months left before the US election. It is expected that Israel will continue to delay and maintain the status quo before this. " Ding Long believes that Israel will continue to talk and fight, and increase its attack on the battlefield, unwilling to calm the situation.

Next, the US election may become the biggest variable in the situation. "Netanyahu may hope that if Trump comes to power, the United States will support Israel with greater efforts and condone Israel’s actions in Gaza and the region." Ding Long said.

(Edit email: ylq@jfdaily.com)