JERUSALEM, ISRAEL — Thousands of Israelis demonstrated in front of government buildings Thursday night, demanding victory in the war against Hamas and rejecting a hostage deal that would allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow Hamas to survive. I asked.
This gathering is Milimnikimreservists of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), many of whom were considered too old to serve in the military, and even when their units had not specifically been called to active duty. He volunteered to participate in the battle.
Many of them live in Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank, where opinions tend to be right-wing and strongly pro-military. Since October 7, 300,000 reservists have responded to the IDF’s call-up, but the military only needs about 150,000.
Many of the speakers lost sons or fathers on October 7 or in the fighting in Gaza. All of them emphasized the idea that their loved ones would have wanted Israel to continue fighting for victory, and thus not accept a weak cease-fire agreement that would leave Hamas intact.
Itzik Bonzel, whose son Amit, a paratrooper, fell fighting with Hama in Gaza, led the crowd in a chant:Nitsachon! ” (“Victory”) and said, “We do not negotiate with our enemies, we defeat them.” “Either you have a leader who wins or you have a neighbor who gets killed,” said Rabbi Benny Kalmanson, whose son Elchanan died defending Kibbutz Beli.
The rally was held on the same day that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended his visit to publicly pressure Israel to accept a deal with Hamas that would leave terrorists in power, and to ensure that Israel “deprecated” the Palestinians. He accused them of trying to humanize them.
On October 7, Gilad Aha, head of the Reserve Organization, told a crowd that the Biden administration should not try to dictate terms to Israel, and the Israeli government should not abide by them. “We will not allow you to make Israel an American protectorate,” he said.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. He is the author of the recent book, The Zionist Conspiracy (And How to Participate in It), now available on Audible. He is also the author of an e-book. Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 US Presidential Election. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
