SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Hundreds holding banners gather in front of Defense Ministry building during a demonstration to demand a hostage swap deal with Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the demanding early elections, in Tel Aviv, Israel on August 10, 2024.
(Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)
'Crime Minister!': Israeli Families of Hostages March Against Netanyahu
"This is our final chance to secure a deal that will save lives," said one family member. "Netanyahu continues to trade on the lives of hostages in exchange for maintaining his seat of power."
Aug 10, 2024
Thousands marched in the streets of Israeli cities on Saturday to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu end his sabotage of negotiations that would see an end to the fighting in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas for over nine months.
As human rights defenders and world leaders condemned the Israeli government throughout the day over the latest "heinous" massacre of innocent civilians in Gaza—this time at another school-turned-shelter in Gaza where an estimate 100 people or more were killed by IDF missiles overnight—family members of hostages were among those who accused Netanyahu of keeping the carnage going in order to maintain power.
In Tel Aviv, demonstrators held up signs that read: "Crime Minister!"; "Bring Them Home!"; and "Bibi, Stop Wasting Time!"
Einav Zangauker, identified by Haaretz as the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, accused Netanyahu of using victims like her son "as pawns to preserve his power."
With the United States, Qatar, and Egypt trying to hold a new round of talks next week, Zangauker said that Israel has "reached a crucial moment" that Netanyahu must not be allowed to sabotage.
"This is our final chance to secure a deal that will save lives," she said. "Netanyahu continues to trade on the lives of hostages in exchange for maintaining his seat of power."
While the heads of Arab nations have told President Joe Biden he must put more of a squeeze on Netanyahu in order to compel him towards a deal, Israel's own defense chiefs have indicated Netanyahu does not want any such deal.
The assassination of Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month by Israel was one clear signal that negotiations—for which Haniyeh was a key player—is not how the Israelis under Netanyahu want to proceed.
Meanwhile, news on Friday that the Biden administration was releasing another $3.5 billion in military aid and weapons sales for Israel indicated that the U.S. president is not applying any pressure on the prime minister ahead of next week's talks.
Ghadir Hani, an anti-war leader in the Standing Together and Women Wage Peace organizations, spoke at a demonstration in the town of Caesarea on Saturday where she said that in addition to the safe return of Israeli hostages, a deal is "also necessary for the sake of the thousands of innocents in Gaza, whose agonized deaths breaks the heart of everyone in whom humanity remains."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Thousands marched in the streets of Israeli cities on Saturday to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu end his sabotage of negotiations that would see an end to the fighting in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas for over nine months.
As human rights defenders and world leaders condemned the Israeli government throughout the day over the latest "heinous" massacre of innocent civilians in Gaza—this time at another school-turned-shelter in Gaza where an estimate 100 people or more were killed by IDF missiles overnight—family members of hostages were among those who accused Netanyahu of keeping the carnage going in order to maintain power.
In Tel Aviv, demonstrators held up signs that read: "Crime Minister!"; "Bring Them Home!"; and "Bibi, Stop Wasting Time!"
Einav Zangauker, identified by Haaretz as the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, accused Netanyahu of using victims like her son "as pawns to preserve his power."
With the United States, Qatar, and Egypt trying to hold a new round of talks next week, Zangauker said that Israel has "reached a crucial moment" that Netanyahu must not be allowed to sabotage.
"This is our final chance to secure a deal that will save lives," she said. "Netanyahu continues to trade on the lives of hostages in exchange for maintaining his seat of power."
While the heads of Arab nations have told President Joe Biden he must put more of a squeeze on Netanyahu in order to compel him towards a deal, Israel's own defense chiefs have indicated Netanyahu does not want any such deal.
The assassination of Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month by Israel was one clear signal that negotiations—for which Haniyeh was a key player—is not how the Israelis under Netanyahu want to proceed.
Meanwhile, news on Friday that the Biden administration was releasing another $3.5 billion in military aid and weapons sales for Israel indicated that the U.S. president is not applying any pressure on the prime minister ahead of next week's talks.
Ghadir Hani, an anti-war leader in the Standing Together and Women Wage Peace organizations, spoke at a demonstration in the town of Caesarea on Saturday where she said that in addition to the safe return of Israeli hostages, a deal is "also necessary for the sake of the thousands of innocents in Gaza, whose agonized deaths breaks the heart of everyone in whom humanity remains."
Thousands marched in the streets of Israeli cities on Saturday to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu end his sabotage of negotiations that would see an end to the fighting in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas for over nine months.
As human rights defenders and world leaders condemned the Israeli government throughout the day over the latest "heinous" massacre of innocent civilians in Gaza—this time at another school-turned-shelter in Gaza where an estimate 100 people or more were killed by IDF missiles overnight—family members of hostages were among those who accused Netanyahu of keeping the carnage going in order to maintain power.
In Tel Aviv, demonstrators held up signs that read: "Crime Minister!"; "Bring Them Home!"; and "Bibi, Stop Wasting Time!"
Einav Zangauker, identified by Haaretz as the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, accused Netanyahu of using victims like her son "as pawns to preserve his power."
With the United States, Qatar, and Egypt trying to hold a new round of talks next week, Zangauker said that Israel has "reached a crucial moment" that Netanyahu must not be allowed to sabotage.
"This is our final chance to secure a deal that will save lives," she said. "Netanyahu continues to trade on the lives of hostages in exchange for maintaining his seat of power."
While the heads of Arab nations have told President Joe Biden he must put more of a squeeze on Netanyahu in order to compel him towards a deal, Israel's own defense chiefs have indicated Netanyahu does not want any such deal.
The assassination of Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month by Israel was one clear signal that negotiations—for which Haniyeh was a key player—is not how the Israelis under Netanyahu want to proceed.
Meanwhile, news on Friday that the Biden administration was releasing another $3.5 billion in military aid and weapons sales for Israel indicated that the U.S. president is not applying any pressure on the prime minister ahead of next week's talks.
Ghadir Hani, an anti-war leader in the Standing Together and Women Wage Peace organizations, spoke at a demonstration in the town of Caesarea on Saturday where she said that in addition to the safe return of Israeli hostages, a deal is "also necessary for the sake of the thousands of innocents in Gaza, whose agonized deaths breaks the heart of everyone in whom humanity remains."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.