Demonstrators gathered outside the Consulate General of Israel in West Los Angeles on Monday, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages.
About 80 protesters carried signs and banners opposing the policies of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who they blame for prolonging the war.
Haya Alafara told KNX News’ Pete Demetriou that with a change in government in Israel, peace is possible.
“There is another way,” she said. “There should be new elections. We should elect a new government, and we should really before that make a peace deal and make sure that both we stop fighting and bring all the hostages home.”
Mass protests broke out in Tel Aviv on Sunday after the bodies of six Israeli hostages were found in Gaza. Many Israelis blame Netanyahu’s government for obstructing a deal that would end the war and bring home the remaining hostages held in Gaza.
David Meyers, a professor of Jewish history at UCLA, said it’s time to take a chance on diplomacy over warfare.
“One has to weigh options,” he said. “Do we want to continue this conflict with the possibility that the hostages will not be returned, or do you want to take a risk on having them be returned, no more Palestinian children killed, and a waiting period during which perhaps new economic and political horizons can be developed for the Palestinian people such that there’s no incentive to lash out as Hamas did on Oct. 7?”
Many of those attending were of the view that even a temporary ceasefire would be a major step towards not only the release of more than 100 Israeli hostages, but a move toward a change in mindset that could make a two-state solution acceptable and workable to both sides.
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As of August 15, at least 40,000 Palestinians had been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, and over 85% of the population had been displaced from their homes, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
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