Israel places three women under house arrest for distributing hostage release flyers

Hostages and Missing Families Forum condemn the arrests, accuse police of obstructing secure release of 101 hostages

Israel has placed three women in Herzliya city under house arrest over distribution of flyers featuring images of hostages and Likud MK Yuli Edelstein.

The flyers potrayed Edelstein as a "Prisoner of Zion," at the synagogue where he prays, according to a report by The Jerusalem Post.

Attorney Ran Tagar, representing the detainees, criticised the lengthy detention for questioning, calling it a "very complicated" investigation into what he described as "three leaders of a crime organization" merely distributing flyers advocating for the hostages' release.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum condemned the arrests, accusing the police of obstructing efforts to secure the release of the 101 hostages who have been in captivity for over 340 days.

They praised the women's commitment to supporting the hostages' families and criticised any attempt to suppress discussions about their plight.

Yuli Edelstein, who was featured on the flyers, has previously commented on Israel's stance towards Iran, emphasising the need to prevent Iran from normalizing missile and drone attacks on Israel.

Recent poll in Israel reveals that 56% of citizens are in favour of forming a national unity government focused on securing the return of hostages from Gaza and setting a date for parliamentary elections, according to a report by the Maariv newspaper.

However, 22% of respondents were against the proposal, while another 22% were undecided.

The survey, conducted by the private Lazar Institute, sampled 503 Israelis and had a margin of error of 4.4%.

This poll comes amidst Israel brutal armed campaign against Gaza which began after a Hamas attack in October claimed 1,200 Israeli lives and saw around 250 people taken hostage.

Since Islrael began its brutal offensive, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed, and the region has faced severe shortages of food, water, and medical supplies.

The UN reports that the vast majority of Gaza's 2.4 million residents have been displaced at least once during the conflict.

The international community, including the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, has been engaged in efforts to mediate a ceasefire and negotiate a deal between Israel and Hamas.

However, talks remain stalled, with significant obstacles remaining, including Hamas's demand for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Israel's insistence on maintaining a military presence along the Gaza-Egypt border.

South Africa has also launched a case against Irsael at the ICJ,  accusing it of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention during its war on Gaza.

Tens of thousand of Israeli have been stagiung anti government protests for month seeking an end to the violence and a return of hostages.

Dozens of hostages have been found dead, reportedly killed by Israeli firepower.

Tension have also escalated across the West Bank amid Israel’s offensive on Gaza.

At least 694 Palestinians have since been killed and over 5,700 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian figures.

Palestinians have long aimed to establish an independent state in the territories Israel occupied in 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Most countries deem settlements, built on land captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, as illegal. Israel disregards the international community's views and UN resolutions with impunity mostly due to complicity of Western powers.