Relatives of those held captive by Hamas in Gaza and protesters who support a deal to release them blocked Highway 1, the main highway connecting Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the West Bank, on Friday, with burning barrels.
At one point, a driver who attempted to pass the roadblock struck one of the protesters in the leg. Videos on social media showed the scene immediately afterward, with other protesters coming to the injured woman's aid.
רכב שניסה לעבור דרס מפגינה. כך זה נראה זמן קצר אחרי @DaphnaLiel צילום - דנור אהרון https://t.co/adiw403BCn pic.twitter.com/y05PXKRIxe
— החדשות - N12 (@N12News) April 19, 2024
The protesters carried banners and signs, chanting into megaphones "Alive, alive! We want them alive!" "Shame!" and "Deal now!"
Protesters accused Israeli leaders of sabotaging hostage negotiations. "Even when they say that we are in critical moments, the feeling is that you don't know who to believe, that Netanyahu and the members of the cabinet are torpedoing deals left and right," one protester said.
It's now or never, protesters say of a deal
"If [a hostage deal] doesn't happen now, it will be a long and difficult situation in which they will not return alive. None of them. There is no revival for our country if they do not return.
"No one wants to raise children and draft them into the IDF knowing that if they are kidnapped, [Israel] will not return them home."