LEILA FADEL, HOST:
We're going to Israel, where anger is spilling into the streets after the bodies of six hostages were recovered from Gaza.
(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Singing in non-English language).
FADEL: Among those killed was an Israeli American, 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin. His parents have been publicly pleading for his return since the day he was taken. Here's his mother Rachel speaking at the Democratic National Convention just last month.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
RACHEL GOLDBERG-POLIN: Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you. Stay strong. Survive.
(APPLAUSE)
FADEL: The grief over his killing along with the five other hostages is what's driving the demonstrations and today's national strike in Israel. It's all an effort to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to get a cease-fire deal that would see the return of the remaining hostages in Gaza. They blame him for these deaths and accuse him of abandoning the hostages. To talk about how significant these protests are, we turn to Gayil Talshir, a political scientist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Good morning. Thanks for being on the program.
GAYIL TALSHIR: Sure. Good morning from Jerusalem.
FADEL: So, Gayil, how different are these protests from what we've seen for months now? Because there have been weekly protests of hostage families and others objecting to Netanyahu's prosecution of this war and demanding a deal. Do these mark a turning point?
TALSHIR: Absolutely. First of all, the magnitude. The demonstrations that we saw week in, week out since the massacre of October 7 and the call for the return of the hostages were on a much smaller scale. Last night, there were about half a million Israelis out on the streets - around 10 million citizens. This is something we have never seen before since the war started, so the magnitude says something. It means that it's not just the left or the center or the political opponents of Netanyahu, but the majority of the population had representations out there in the streets.
FADEL: So you think these protests are a representative of a majority of the Israeli society right now?
TALSHIR: You know, we know that from the polls, because when you look at the polls, you see time and again that around 70% of all Israelis think that the deal to bring back the hostages is more important than anything else. And other issues about the military situation in Gaza can be dealt with later. But the thing is that politically, Netanyahu, the prime minister, is now not affected by what the majority of Israelis actually want or think, but by maintaining the survival of his political coalition, which is what has been leading him since October 7.
FADEL: And so you think that's what's driving him, is maintaining his coalition, appealing to the far right that doesn't want a deal? I mean, because we've heard the military establishment even criticize at this point. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reportedly called Netanyahu's demand to control the strip of land on the Egyptian-Gaza border, which is part of what's holding up a deal, a moral disgrace. So is it only about pleasing a piece of his coalition? Why isn't he listening to the military?
TALSHIR: That's exactly what happened, that Netanyahu no longer listens to the military and to all the heads of the security organizations like the Shin Bet and the Mossad because he drives it as a personal, basically, struggle to survive. But it means also, you know, the deal that Netanyahu's own war cabinet just agreed to by the end of May, the person that changed it was Netanyahu. Because he keeps on changing the terms so the deal would not be able to be achieved because of his political situation. This is a very, very sad thing to say.
And I want to also stress that the anger that we see tonight and today in the streets goes back to the decision of Netanyahu's cabinet only two days ago. Netanyahu decided against the will of the defense minister that a deal would not be strike if it means that the Philadelphi line, the border between Gaza and Egypt, would not be held by Israeli IDF, even though the IDF says we can do without it.
FADEL: When you say it's a turning point, does that mean it will change anything about the way that the prime minister is prosecuting this war? I mean, he says this is the only way to do it, this is how to get rid of Hamas - the only way to bring the hostages home is through military force.
TALSHIR: First of all, you have to remember that Hamas said no to the deal already even today. There are two sides to that. What the Israelis are crossed about is not about the situation with Hamas but the way that the prime minister is leading or not leading the negotiations, basically not allowing the negotiators to go with a free hand to get a better deal. So this is how they see it. But you have to understand that politically he has a 64 majority, which will be very, very difficult to move him. Any other prime minister would've had an emergency national unity government, but Netanyahu is sticking to his 64 extreme-right coalition. So that's the situation in Israel. Would there be a break out of the deadlock? Maybe if the Biden administration will have the final offer for the hostages, and maybe Netanyahu will decide to take it after all.
FADEL: Gayil Talshir of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Thank you for joining us and thank you for your insights.
TALSHIR: Sure. Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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