Israel’s main labour union launches general strike to push for prisoner swap 

A general strike has been launched in Israel, the largest of its kind since 7 October, with protesters calling on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a prisoner swap deal with Palestinians.

The call came hours after the Israeli army said that it had recovered the bodies of six prisoners of war from the southern Gaza Strip.

“We are getting body bags instead of a deal. I have come to the conclusion that only our intervention might move those who need to be moved,” Histadrut Labour Federation chief Arnon Bar-David said yesterday evening.

“I call on the people of Israel to go out to the streets tonight and tomorrow and for everyone to take part in the strike,” he added.

The one-day strike, which began at 6am, saw Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport closed for two hours this morning from 8am local time (5am GMT).

A decision on whether the strike will be extended is expected to be taken later in the day.

The Times of Israel reported that in line with the general strike called by Histadrut, the Teachers Union, a branch of the Histadrut, announced that “all K-12 schools in Israel will be open only until 11:45 a.m. tomorrow, except schools for special needs kids.”

The union’s early childhood director further said that all kindergartens will be completely closed today, except for special needs centres.

Haaretz revealed that the three major Israeli news channels – Channel 11, Channel 12 and Channel 13, “announced changes to regular broadcast schedules, postponing reality TV shows and other entertainment programmes in favour of news broadcasts and coverage of the hostages’ funerals.”

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Some municipalities and local governments, such as Gezer Regional Council, Tel Aviv and Givatayim municipalities, said their employees will join the families at protests. A large Israeli law firm also said it would support the protest, offering legal assistance to anyone targeted by Israeli police.

Restaurants, food and beverage businesses, movie theatres and entertainment venues across Israel have announced that they will close their doors as of yesterday evening in support of the families of hostages, calling on their customers to “join the demonstrations”.

“Don’t leave the hostage families on their own,” wrote an association of Israeli restaurant owners.

Israel’s Labour Court in Tel Aviv ruled that the strike must end at 2:30pm local time (11.30 GMT), according to court documents seen by Reuters. It is unclear whether organisers will comply with the ruling.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied responsibility for the death of the six hostages, claiming that Hamas was the one refusing to participate in “genuine negotiations”.

Hamas said that the six hostages were killed as a result of ongoing Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli sources said three of the six hostages whose bodies had been recovered were supposed to be released in the first stage of the prisoner swap deal currently being negotiated.

“They appeared in the lists given over at the beginning of July. It was possible to bring them back alive,” the source said.

The strike comes after the families of hostages issued a statement demanding a nation- wide strike and that Netanyahu take direct responsibility and “not hide behind the army spokesman”.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid also called to “shut down the economy” to pressure Netanyahu, saying “Netanyahu and his government of death have decided not to rescue” the hostages.

Netanyahu is accused of hindering a truce deal with Hamas, with analysts saying that his political survival depends on the continuation of the war on Gaza.