JERUSALEM: Hundreds of parents of Israeli soldiers fighting in Gaza accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday of `dragging` the conflict that has killed nearly 400 troops in the Palestinian territory.
Theparentgroupofabout800 Israelis said in a letter addressed to Netanyahu that they `cannot allow you to continue sacrificing our children as cannon fodder`.
Their sons and daughters havefoughtin the ranks ofthe Israeli military in the Gaza Strip during the conflict. Critics of Netanyahu have repeatedly accused him of derailing efforts to end the fighting for political gain and to prevent the potential collapse of his hard-right coalition.
`We accuse you of an endless war, unprecedented in the history of our country,` said the letter from the group called Parents of Soldiers Say Enough.
`This is only due to your personal political survival interests,` the parents argued.
Netanyahu, who also faces trial on corruption charges he denies, has insisted Hamas was to blame for any delays in securing a ceasefire while also vowing to eliminate the Palestinian group responsible for the deadliest attack in Israel`s history.
Months of mediation efforts to secure a truce and the release of several prisoners held in the Gaza Strip have failed to produce a deal, though indirect talks have resumed recently in Qatar.
The parents` letter said that `everyone` including the Israeli soldiers on the ground `knows...
that the war is dragging on without purpose and that the hostages will only be released as part of an agreement`. `We accuse you of abandoning the hostages and the soldiers! We call on you: end the war! Some soldiers have been deployed to Gaza for nearly the entirety of the conflict, which has entered its 16th month.
`The Israeli army has no reason to remain in Gaza, except to fulfil the messianic desires to settle there,` the letter said.
SomemembersofNetanyhau`s ruling coalition who represent the far right have called to reestablish Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, from which Israel withdrew troops and settlers in 2005 after decades.
Since Israel sent ground forces into Gaza on Oct 27, 2023 about three weeks after the Hamas raid the military says 399 soldiers have been killed there.-AFP