By Emily Rose and Stephen Sher
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The head of Israel’s largest labor union called for a general strike on Monday to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to return Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza, as thousands of protesters took to the streets.
The call by Arnon Bar-David, whose Histadrut union represents hundreds of thousands of workers, for a one-day general strike has received support from major manufacturers and businessmen in Israel’s high-tech sector.
The alliance of some of the most powerful voices in the Israeli economy reflected the extent of public anger over the killing of six hostages among some 250 people kidnapped by Hamas militants on October 7 last year, which was announced on Sunday.
“We have to reach an agreement (on the return of the surviving hostages). An agreement is more important than anything else. We are getting body bags instead of an agreement,” Bar-David said at a news conference.
In an attempt to prevent the move, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara asking her to file an urgent request with the Israeli Labor Court to obtain an injunction against the strike.
Smotrich claimed that the strike would harm the economy, and that it had no legal basis, as its main purpose was to influence important government policy decisions on issues related to state security.
He wrote in his letter to Baharav Miara: “These issues are not the subject of a strike by workers’ organizations and have no connection to labor relations in Israel.”
Israel said earlier it had retrieved the bodies of the six from a tunnel in southern Gaza where they were killed shortly before Israeli forces reached them.
Ben Gurion Airport, Israel’s main air hub, will close from 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Monday, he said. Municipal services in Tel Aviv, Israel’s economic hub, will also be closed for part of the day.
The Manufacturers Association of Israel said it supported the strike and accused the government of failing in its “moral duty” to return the hostages alive.
“Without the return of the hostages we will not be able to end the war, we will not be able to rehabilitate ourselves as a society and we will not be able to begin to rehabilitate the Israeli economy,” said Ron Tomer, the association’s chairman.
Israeli opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid had earlier expressed his support for the strike.
Protests
Thousands of protesters blocked roads in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Sunday and demonstrated outside Netanyahu’s residence.
The Hostage Families Forum, which represents the families of some of those held in Gaza, said the deaths of the six were a direct result of Netanyahu’s failure to reach an agreement to stop the fighting and return their loved ones home.
“They were all killed in the past few days, after surviving about 11 months of abuse, torture and starvation in Hamas captivity,” the movement said in a statement.
Gil Dickman, Carmel Gat’s cousin whose body was among those returned, urged Israelis to pressure the government in a post on social media platform X.
“Take to the streets and close the country until everyone returns. They can still be saved,” Dickman wrote.
About 101 hostages are still being held in Gaza, though Israel believes a third are dead. Netanyahu and many hardliners in his government, as well as their supporters, remain opposed to any hostage deal that would release militants from Israeli jails and help keep Hamas in power.
Aerial footage showed Tel Aviv’s main highway blocked by protesters carrying flags bearing pictures of the dead hostages.
Sheri Albag, whose daughter Liri is being held by militants in Gaza, told Israel’s Channel 12 that she was moved to see the protesters but sad that it took this event to bring the masses into the streets.
“It is true that (Hamas leader Yahya) Sinwar is the killer and the father of all killers, but at the end of the day, Leri and I are Israeli citizens and I appeal to Benjamin Netanyahu – it is his responsibility and his job to bring them home,” Al-Bagh said.
“The hostages are being killed because of military pressure,” said Merav Leshem-Gonen, the mother of Romi, who is being held by Hamas in Gaza.