Demonstrators have once again taken to the streets in Israel – for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and freedom for the hostages abducted there. Their hopes rest on the negotiations in Qatar.
They have gathered on Rothschild Boulevard in the heart of Tel Aviv. They want to start marching through the city center to the Israeli Defense Ministry. They will be loud. Again. As they have been so often in the past ten months.
Yair Moses will be right at the front. His father Gadi was abducted to the Gaza Strip. Now Yair is hoping for the negotiations in Doha: “These talks could be the last chance for my father and many others to return home alive. We expect Israel’s negotiators to do everything they can to reach an agreement and free the hostages. Time is running out.”
Many here also blame their own government, and specifically Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for the fact that negotiations on a ceasefire and the release of the hostages have repeatedly stalled in recent months.
Yair Moses also thinks that Netanyahu’s negotiating strategy is one reason why there is no agreement yet. “We believe that it could have happened already and we know that he is responsible for delays. We hope that this time it will not be like that, that there will be an agreement and that they will come home,” he says.
Blocked by your own head of government?
Israeli negotiators also accused the head of government of tying their hands and not giving them enough room to maneuver in the negotiations. The hostages’ relatives hope that the high level of international pressure on Netanyahu – especially from Israel’s most important ally, the USA – will now give the Israeli delegation in Doha more room to maneuver.
Shira Albag’s daughter Liri was a soldier on the border with the Gaza Strip and is still being held hostage. Her mother says: “I think they now have a mandate to negotiate an agreement.” And she continues: Yes, there are accusations against the Prime Minister that he delayed an agreement. But now the negotiators in Doha have a mandate and can achieve something.
But the hurdles still seem high. The framework agreement presented by the mediators initially provides for a six-week ceasefire, during which a first group of abductees – women, elderly people, sick hostages – are to be released. A permanent ceasefire is then to take effect.
Hamas insists on guarantees
The militant Islamist Hamas wants guarantees that this will actually happen, because Israel’s declared military goal in the Gaza Strip remains the elimination of the terrorist organization. The right-wing extremist coalition partners of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu are against any kind of agreement with Hamas and are calling for the fighting to continue.
Shira Albag, whose daughter Liri was taken hostage while serving her country as a soldier, has a clear expectation: “As long as she is not home, her country has not served her. The only way they can serve her is by bringing her home.”
Fighting is still continuing in the Gaza Strip. According to the health authorities controlled by Hamas, the death toll is now more than 40,000.