‘Time to intensify efforts’: Hadash Party backs mass protest against Gaza starvation in Tel Aviv

Thousands of peace activists will stand together, participating in an anti-war, anti-hunger protest in Tel Aviv backed by the Hadash Arab party.

The Hadash Party called for the broadest possible participation of the Arab public to take part in an upcoming protest on Saturday in Tel Aviv that will demonstrate against starvation in Gaza and the war.

Hadash makes up one of the two Arab parties currently in the Knesset, in a joint list with Ta’al, known as Hadash-Ta’al.

The protest was named “Stop the Starvation, Stop the War – Yes to Life and Peace.” It is expected to be an Arab-Jewish demonstration led by the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, which is an extra-parliamentary organization dealing with matters concerning the Arab community.

In a Thursday statement about the protest, Hadash slammed the recent actions of the current government, saying, “This is the time to intensify efforts and halt the deterioration.”

The party’s statement began by criticizing Israel’s recent announcement of its Gaza City takeover plan.

“The government of genocide intends to continue destroying all of Gaza City and the central cities and camps of the Strip,” Hadash said.

“Already today, millions of refugees live in impossible conditions in tent cities, with the most vulnerable facing immediate danger of death. The planned invasion is expected to lead to an inevitable humanitarian disaster,” Hadash added.

Thousands of Jewish and Arab activists will protest together in solidarity

The party’s statement also addressed the situation in the West Bank, claiming that “ethnic cleansing is running unchecked.”

Hadash condemned the recent approval of the construction project in the West Bank, led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, marking asignificant expansion in Ma’aleh Adumim in an area known as E1.

“In the face of all this, the basic human duty that must be upheld against all forms of murderous fascism is our responsibility—never again! It is in our hands to stop the genocide and the right-wing government,” the party said.

“It is our duty to strive for a future that ensures recognition of the Palestinian people’s rights, thereby creating a future of security and prosperity for both peoples. To this end, we must raise our voices for the immediate cessation of the war and the return of all hostages, prisoners, and displaced persons to their homes,” Hadash added.

The protest is planned to set out from Dizengoff Square at 4:00 p.m., where it will then proceed to Habima Square.

Hadash said thousands ofJewish and Arab participants, peace activists, and communities from across the country are expected to participate.

In recent developments with Hadash, the party’s leader met with the heads of the other three central Arab parties, Ra’am, Ta’al, and Balad, last week.

The four parties decided to move forward with negotiations to reestablish the Joint List bloc in the meeting.

The Joint List bloc, once made up of the four parties, began to break apart ahead of the 2021 elections after Ra’am left the alliance. Then, in a dramatic last-minute split in 2022, Balad broke off from the two remaining factions and filed a separate list.

MK Ahmad Tibi, head of Hadash-Ta’al, told The Jerusalem Post after the meeting that “the four Arab lists must run together on a joint slate,” due to “the challenges facing Arab society in Israel and the state as a whole.”