Sept. 2 (UPI) — The second day of labor protests in Israel on Monday saw the funeral of Hersh-Goldberg Polin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issue a rare apology for the deaths of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas terrorists.
Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, Netanyahu apologized for the deaths but maintained his hardline approach on Hamas, saying the terror group will pay a heavy price.
“My heart and the heart of the nation is shattered into pieces,” the embattled prime minister said Monday.
“I ask your apology that we did not succeed in bringing them home alive,” he said to the families of the six Israeli hostages whose bodies were found Sunday in Gaza.
On Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had received an update from U.S. negotiators on the status of the bridging proposal outlined by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, according to a White House readout of the Situation Room meeting.
Biden and Harris discussed “next steps in the ongoing effort to secure the release of hostages” including continued talks with Qatar and Egypt, co-mediators in the process, it said.
The discussion was held the same day as thousands of Israeli citizens lined the streets of Jerusalem for the funeral of American-Israeli Goldberg-Polin.
“We must stand united as one person against a cruel enemy that wants to destroy all of us, all of us without any exceptions,” Netanyahu said as thousands of Israelis protested his handling of hostage negotiations on a day a partial strike had been called to urge him to accept a deal.
Biden on Monday was critical of Netanyahu’s failure to reach a deal.
“I don’t believe that either President Biden or anyone serious about achieving peace and achieving the release [of the hostages] would seriously ask Israel to make these concessions we’ve already made,” Netanyahu had responded.
“Hamas has to make the concessions,” he added.
The chief of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency David Barnea was reportedly in Doha on Monday to meet with Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Al Thani.
Meanwhile, Hamas’ lead negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya told Al Jazeera on Sunday that no deal would happen without Israeli troops withdrawing from the Philadelphi corridor running along the Egypt-Gaza border.
According to sources familiar with negotiations, Netanyahu’s recent insistence on staying in the corridor represents a change in his position.
Earlier on Monday, an Israeli labor court ordered striking employees back to work by Monday afternoon after determining union-organized strikes throughout the country were political and, thus, not supported by the country’s labor laws.
The Bat Yam Labor court ruled that the general strike must end by 2:30 p.m., local time, on Monday, three hours earlier than the Histadrut Labor Federation had hoped.
The federation called for the general strike on Sunday in support of the families of hostages who are calling on Netanyahu to strike a cease-fire deal.
The Tel Aviv, Kfar Saba and Givatayim municipalities said at the time that they would join the strike, along with many Israeli colleges and Ben Gurion International Airport.
Histadrut Labor Federation chair Arnon Bar-David said he respected the court’s decision but believed the union made its point by the number of groups that rallied to strike beside them.
“It is important to emphasize that the solidarity strike was a significant measure and I stand behind it,” Bar-David said, according to The Times of Israel. “Despite the attempts to paint solidarity as political, hundreds of thousands of citizens voted with their feet.
“I thank every one of you. You proved that the fate of the hostages is not right-wing or left-wing. There is only life or death and we won’t allow life to be abandoned.”
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich both cheered the ruling.
“I am thankful for the decision of the Labor Court to stop the Histadrut’s political strike,” Ben-Gvir said.
While large crowds participated in the strike, Smotrich said that many Israelis also ignored the calls for a strike and went to work.
“We won’t allow harm to the Israeli economy and thereby serve the interests of [Yahya] Sinwar and Hamas,” Smotrich said.
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