Kidnapped families block Ayalon, February 23, 2024/Danor Aharon
At this time (Friday), families of abductees block the Ayalon lanes towards the north, in the area of the Peace Interchange, where they have an empty Shabbat table, and sing Shabbat songs, with pictures of the abductees placed on the chairs of the table.
The families placed 134 empty chairs on the road.
Among others, the members of the Calderon, Metzger, Monder, Plati-Kazir and Or families are participating in the protest.
With them, there are activists for the release of the abductees.
As part of the rally, signs were placed on the road that read "What if this was your family?", "It's not Shabbat without them" and "Only a struggle will bring back the kidnapped."
The participants are protesting what they call "the shameful statements of the Minister of Finance and other members of the government against a deal", and demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "ignore political considerations and do everything so that this will be the last Shabbat without the abductees, and bring about a deal".
Kidnapped families block Ayalon, February 23, 2024/Official website, Amir Turkel
The families called on the public to join them in the struggle and put pressure on Netanyahu to accept the decision.
Their statement reads: "There is no victory without the return of the abductees and the time of the abductees in captivity is over. If there is no deal now we will receive back 134 bodies. Netanyahu abandoned them on October 7, and he must rise above all political considerations, ignore Smotrich and Ben Gvir and fulfill his moral duty Bring them home. If there is no deal now, it's time for everyone who wants the abductees home to join us and disrupt the country. Only a struggle will bring the abductees back."
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