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Following the end of the latest round of talks on a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza war, thousands of people in Israel again demonstrated in favour of a hostage deal.<\/p>\n
At a rally, the mother of a hostage held by the militant Palestinian organization Hamas called on the leadership of the Israeli security apparatus to prevent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from torpedoing a deal, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.<\/p>\n
The mediating states Qatar, Egypt and the USA hope that an agreement will lead to a ceasefire as well as the release of the hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n
“Even if this is not a perfect deal, it is the only deal there is,” at a rally the father of one of the hostages was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
Protests took place in the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, in Haifa and many other places around the country.<\/p>\n
Many demonstrators accuse Netanyahu of sabotaging a deal and bowing to the demands of his ultra-religious and far-right coalition partners. They are against making concessions to Hamas. Netanyahu is dependent on them for his political survival.<\/p>\n
The demonstrators once again demanded the resignation of the government and new elections.<\/p>\n
In the event of fresh elections, Netanyahu potentially faces losing the prime minister’s job. This in turn would accelerate the prosecution of alleged corruption of which the prime minister is accused.<\/p>\n
Talks mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the USA failed to achieve a breakthrough on Friday and were postponed, but were described as constructive.<\/p>\n
The indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of hostages in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails have been dragging on for months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n