ALBAWABA - Histadrut, Israel's biggest labor union, planned a statewide strike for Monday on Sunday. Following a massive Tel Aviv rally with over 100,000 demonstrators that closed roads nationwide, the strike will affect all sectors of the economy.
The disturbance follows the discovery of six detainees' corpses in a tunnel in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, earlier in the day. Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar David blamed political circumstances for preventing a prisoner swap with the resistance. He said these reasons have resulted to the reception of corpses instead of inmates and called for a financial boycott to protest the administration.
Bar David has requested mass support and protest growth beginning tonight. Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa will see interruptions in public transit, government agencies, and essential infrastructure including Ben Gurion Airport due to the strike.
Givatayim, Hod Hasharon, and Kfar Saba have joined the strike and rallies alongside Tel Aviv. The Families of Prisoners Forum called Histadrut's decision noble and leadership-like.
Jerusalem police dispersed protesters who blocked the Atarot Bridge. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called the strike unlawful and threatened to withhold wages.
Thousands of Israelis have protested outside Tel Aviv and Jerusalem government buildings, demanding a prisoner swap agreement immediately. Outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, protesters have criticized the government's prisoner policy.
The Israeli military identified six captives found in a Rafah tunnel. President Joe Biden offered his sympathies to a victim.
