Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the general strike that took place in the country today, September 2, as “shameful”, even mentioning that it is support for Hamas.
In the strike, hundreds of thousands of Israelis called on the government to reach an agreement to free the remaining Israeli hostages and for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The head of Israel’s largest trade union, the Histadrut, called Sunday 1/9 for a general strike today, after six dead Israeli hostages were found in Gaza. The protests are intended to force the Netanyahu government to finalize a deal with the above goals, amid growing anger at Netanyahu inside the country for insisting on demands that block a deal with Hamas.
The court decision
The strike was halted by a court order this afternoon, although the Hostage Families Support Forum encouraged the public to continue the protests.
Netanyahu during a cabinet meeting vowed that Hamas would “pay the price for killing the hostages.” He ordered the government to prepare recommendations within the next 48 hours for a strong response to the Palestinian organization.
The Israeli Ministry of Health announced yesterday that the hostages were executed by “point-of-contact” gunfire about 48 to 72 hours before the autopsy of the bodies, which took place on Sunday (1/9) morning.
According to the reports, the Israeli prime minister also defended the decision approved by the cabinet to maintain Israel’s permanent military presence in the so-called Philadelphia Corridor, a small strip of land on the border of Egypt and the Gaza Strip, under any possible agreement.
Netanyahu’s insistence on keeping troops in that corridor to prevent Hamas from transferring weapons from Egypt is widely seen as one of the key obstacles to a deal with the Palestinian organization in talks brokered by Egypt and Qatar.
Britain suddenly curbs arms sales to Israel
Almost 11 months since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip that has claimed tens of thousands of lives – even in UN structures – the British government announced today that it is suspending the export of certain weapons to Israel because of the risk that they could be used in violation of international law.
This decision by the British government comes amid “nails” from US President Joe Biden against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and amid angry reactions within Israel after the discovery of six dead hostages in Rafah.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Monday that there was a “clear risk” that certain elements would be used to “commit or facilitate a serious breach of international humanitarian law”.
He told lawmakers that the decision affected about 30 of Israel’s 350 export licenses and was not an arms embargo. “We do not take this decision lightly,” said the British foreign minister.
The foreign secretary said the government would keep its position “under review”.
Lammy also said that foreign policy “involves difficult choices” and added: “But I will always seek to make such decisions in accordance with our principles.”
The Foreign Secretary told the House of Commons that the UK “takes seriously its role in implementing export licensing legislation, reflecting published criteria and specific circumstances”. “But let me leave the House in no doubt, the UK continues to support Israel’s right to self-defence under international law.”
The Israeli government says it is “disappointed”.
Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, said Israel was “disappointed by a series of decisions” taken by the British government, including the decision on arms exports.
Katz said the move “sends a very troubling message” to Hamas and its patrons in Iran.
“Deeply disappointed to learn of the sanctions imposed by the UK government on export licenses to Israel’s defense system,” Defense Minister Yav Gallad told X.
British companies sell relatively little arms and parts to Israel, which gets most of its weapons from the US and Germany. Earlier this year, the British government said military exports to Israel would reach £42m in 2022.
The UK’s centre-left Labor government, elected in July, has faced pressure from some of its members and lawmakers to put more pressure on Israel to end the violence and end arms sales to Israel as concerns have grown about death toll in Gaza and the widespread destruction of infrastructure.
Critics say UK arms exports to Israel could make Britain complicit in alleged violations of international humanitarian law.
New threats from Hamas
At the same time, Hamas threatened that the hostages would be returned to their relatives “wrapped in shrouds” if Israel continued its military operations.
The spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obaydah, announced on Monday that the group had issued new instructions to guards on how to handle hostages if Israeli forces approach their sites in Gaza.
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