Israel faces general strike over Gaza prisoners as Netanyahu continues to reject exchange deal

Occupied Palestine (Quds News Network)- The Israeli labor union federation, Histadrut, announced a sweeping economic strike in Israel starting Monday in response to calls from the families of Israeli prisoners. The move is aimed at pressuring Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to negotiate a prisoner exchange deal with the resistance.

Arnon Bar-David, head of Histadrut, declared the strike, stating that he will not tolerate abandoning the Israeli prisoners. According to a statement from Histadrut, the Israeli economy will halt starting at 6 a.m., and Ben Gurion Airport will suspend all flights by 8 a.m. A complete list of participating workplaces will be released soon.

Earlier today, Israeli media reported that Histadrut was finalizing its decision on the strike call. Israeli channel 12 also noted that Bar-David has summoned the families of the prisoners for an urgent meeting, with rising demands to disrupt Israel’s economy both tonight and tomorrow.

The strike call follows the discovery of the bodies of six Israeli prisoners in a tunnel in southern Gaza, raising concerns they were killed in recent days as Netanyahu continues to reject a prisoners’ exchange deal. In response, Israel’s Business Forum, representing 200 top business leaders, has scheduled an emergency meeting to support the protests. The forum announced its alignment with the prisoners’ families, urging the public to not remain silent.

A senior business sector official told Channel 12 that the number of people protesting tonight will likely influence the decision to call for a general strike. “If thousands are on the streets, the chances of a strike increase,” the official said, adding that hundreds of top business leaders, high-tech investors, mayors, and hospital directors will attend tonight’s emergency meeting.

Meanwhile, dozens of key businesses in the occupation state have pledged to join the protests by halting their operations tonight. All eyes are on Histadrut and the Business Forum as they weigh a full-scale strike that could bring Israel’s economic activities to a standstill.