The head of Israel's powerful Histadrut union federation urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
to call elections
and take responsibility for failing to prevent the Oct. 7 attack by Islamist group Hamas, while warning that it could call for a general strike.
"It took us to the edge, to a place we should not have been.
We are at a dead end
and there is only one way out: elections," Arnon Bar-David, leader of Histadrut, said at an event.
The union leader suggested that new elections be held in December, when he estimates that the war against Hamas will have ended.
"It would be a mistake to hold elections now, when the war continues," but "the country cannot continue like this, the State of Israel needs a reset. Everyone wants something new, for new people to enter politics," he explained, warning that could join the growing protests against the Government that are breaking out in the country.
"Maybe we have to go out into the street
. I hope that is not necessary," he stressed.
However, Netanyahu
categorically refused to resign
from his position at a press conference.
"The last thing we need now is elections" because that would divide Israelis and give advantages to Hamas, he said, praising its performance since the war broke out: "We are dismantling Hamas's underground infrastructure, we have recovered more than half of the hostages and we will bring the rest.”
"This is not the time for politics
," he stressed, asking Israelis to "wait patiently."
A protest, on Saturday, against Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv.
Reuters Photo
For its part, Netanyahu's Likud party issued a statement in which it considered "shameful that in the midst of this war, while the nation is crying out for unity, the president of Histadrut, Arnon Ben-David,
decided to deal with petty policies
that divide the nation and weaken the war effort.
Before the war broke out, on October 7, Israel
was experiencing deep political and social polarization
, and a massive protest movement called for the resignation of Netanyahu, who is facing three trials for corruption and was promoting a controversial judicial reform at that time. .
Bar-David then joined the anti-government movement by calling general strikes, which paralyzed a good part of the Israeli economy and managed to temporarily freeze the processing of the reform and open a dialogue with the opposition.
In his statements, Bar-David
also blamed Netanyahu for delaying an agreement with Hamas
for a ceasefire that would allow the release of the more than one hundred hostages still in the Gaza Strip held by the Islamist group.
For several months now, protests have become increasingly stronger to pressure Netanyahu to resign and immediately agree to the release of the hostages.
This Saturday,
thousands of Israelis participated in several demonstrations
in this regard in Tel Aviv, in front of the presidential residence in Jerusalem and in 50 other points in the country.
"Don't abandon them to die," the crowd cried, addressing Netanyahu.
Last Thursday there were also protests in front of the homes of ministers and legislators to demand the end of the current Government, the most right-wing in the history of Israel and which has given great power to ultra-Orthodox and ultra-nationalists.
Source: EFE and AFP
P.B.