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Israel to hold general strike on September 2 demanding immediate release of hostages

According to Bar-David, the hostage release deal is being delayed "due to political reasons"

TEL AVIV, September 1. /TASS/. Chief of the General Organization of Workers in Israel, or Histadrut, Arnon Bar-David has announced a one-day general strike action on Monday, September 2, demanding the country’s authorities make efforts for the immediate release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

"I call on the people of Israel to take to the streets and on all economic organizations to join the strike," he said in an address aired by the i24 television channel.

According to Bar-David, the hostage release deal is being delayed "due to political reasons." He said that this is what he felt after speaking with Israeli officials, including security officers. "We cannot continue doing nothing any longer. It is unacceptable that Jews are being murdered in tunnels in Gaza. We need to reach a deal. This is more important than anything else," he stressed.

The Histadrut leader’s statement came hours after the news that six Israeli hostages, including Alexander Lobanov, who also had Russian citizenship, had been found dead in the Gaza Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said earlier that their bodies had been found by the Israeli military in a tunnel near the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip late on August 31.

The full list of companies that would join the strike action on September 2 will be made public later. According to the Ynet news portal, companies and organizations of the healthcare sector, pharmacies, food production companies will take part in the action. According to TV channel 12, Ben Gurion Airport will be closed from eight in the morning. Tel Aviv’s municipality has also supported the strike action.

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