The Labour Court of Israel ordered this Monday to end the general strike called by the Histadrut trade union center, which is seeking to pressure the government to obtain an agreement on the hostage-taking, and agrees with the public prosecutor that it is a political strike and not provoked by a “collective labor dispute.”
The court of Tel Aviv ordered the strike to end at 2:30 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. GMT), after a symbolic half-day of national strike action, which included, among other sectors, banks, some universities and some postal and transport services.
“It is important to emphasize that the solidarity strike was an important measure and I support it,” said the president of the country’s largest union, Arnon Bar-David, according to statements to news channel 12.
The end of the strike, before the court’s decision, was scheduled for 6 p.m. “We live in a state of law and we respect the court’s decision. That is why I ask everyone to return to work at 2:30 p.m.,” Bar-David said.
The Histadrut represents some 800,000 workers in Israel, although surveillance of the strike was limited and the streets of cities like Jerusalem showed some normalcy, with only a few shops and banks closed, as well as technology companies.
Alongside the strike, demonstrations in support of a truce agreement are taking place across the country, with hundreds of Israelis blocking roads in Tel Aviv and Herzliya, among other cities. Last night, more than 300,000 Israelis They protested against Netanyahu’s government in Tel Aviv, which was met with trucks filled with fetid water and mounted police.
The Histadrut yesterday called for a general strike to pressure the government into a hostage dealafter the army recovered in southern Gaza the bodies of six captives the army said were murdered by Hamas shortly before soldiers found them.
“The court accepted our position and determined that the Histadrut strike was political and illegal,” said the far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who yesterday called any ceasefire with Hamas a capitulation.
