Israeli parliament sees violent clashes as internal pressure mount over Gaza deal

JERUSALEM

Israeli opposition leaders on March 4 urged the parliament speaker and government to apologize and clarify the violent clashes between parliamentary staff and protesters, including families of hostages and survivors of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Following the official end of the first phase of the Gaza truce, Israel halted aid deliveries to the enclave, citing Hamas' rejection of a new proposal.

As concerns grow over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the U.N. reported that border closures have led to a more than 100-fold increase in food prices across the region.

Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has refused to move forward with the second phase of negotiations—which would have included the release of remaining hostages—faces mounting domestic pressure, particularly from hostage families.

Speaking in the parliament, Netanyahu declared that Israel is “preparing for the next stages of the war” and vowed to continue fighting until achieving “all our victory goals.”

Addressing Hamas directly, he warned, “If you do not release our hostages, there will be consequences that you cannot imagine.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Tuesday echoed Netanyahu’s stance, stating that Israel requires Gaza’s "full demilitarization" and the removal of Hamas before proceeding with the next phase of negotiations.

Tensions flared in the Knesset late on March 3 when security guards forcibly blocked hostage families from entering the visitors' gallery to witness a debate on investigating Hamas' attack.

Footage of the incident showed a guard pinning a man to the ground with his arm pressed against the man's throat. According to Israeli media reports, three individuals required medical attention.

Despite the families’ appeals, Netanyahu maintained his opposition to a state commission inquiry—the most authoritative investigative body—into the attack.

Red-faced and shouting into the microphone, he called for an “objective, balanced and independent investigation” rather than one with "predetermined conclusions."

He also accused his critics of conducting a “fictitious and cynical campaign” against him at the expense of hostage families.

Amid interruptions from opposition members, some of whom were expelled from the chamber, Netanyahu asserted that while Israel fights its external enemies, it must also confront those who “are drilling holes in the national ship.”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid demanded a commission of inquiry during the heated session, telling Netanyahu: “The greatest disaster that has happened to the Jewish people since the Holocaust belongs to you. It will always belong to you.”

Following the clashes, Alon Nimrodi, the father of an Israeli soldier hostage, called the prime minister "the coldest and most out of touch person I have ever met," in an interview with Kan Bet public radio.

As criticism mounts over the government’s handling of the Gaza situation, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced his trip to the U.S., seemingly in an effort to push Washington to support the annexation of the occupied West Bank.