Business Trade

 

Israeli families claim they were informed by Netanyahu that he won't consent to a hostage release agreement unless it benefits him politically.

According to the Hostage Family Forum, "the Israeli government made a conscious and deliberate decision to sacrifice the hostages."

                                                Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Tel Aviv According to people in the closed-door meeting and an advocacy group on Friday, a top Israeli security official informed the families of those held captive that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not consent to ending the war in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages unless opinion polls show it is politically advantageous for him.

Tzachi Hanegbi, Netanyahu's national security advisor, made remarks that shocked the hostage family community some eight months after their loved ones were abducted by Hamas during the Oct. 7 raid. The remarks were originally reported by Israel's Channel 12 broadcaster.


The Hostage Family Forum claimed in a statement on Friday that "the Israeli government made a conscious and deliberate decision to sacrifice the hostages." "The captives, as well as the whole State

of Israel, have been captured by those who put their political interests before of their civic and national obligations.

 On Thursday afternoon, Hanegbi visited with the hostages' families at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. Gil Dickman was present; his 40-year-old cousin Carmel Gat is one of the 125 hostages who are currently being held in Gaza.

Hanegbi "told us: 'We understand that a deal that will end the war is the only way to bring all the hostages back.'" Additionally, Dickman believes that the Israeli government will not immediately cease the war, as he stated in an interview with NBC News on Friday.

"He indicated that the only way to get Netanyahu to do this is to convince him that it will benefit him politically, that if he sees surveys that indicate that If the Israeli people is more in favor of the hostages returning home than it is of the conflict continuing, he will work out a plan to free all of the hostages, he continued. "This shocked us," we said.

Hanegbi stated he would not publicly comment on the contents of a discussion that was held behind closed doors in a statement issued by the prime minister's office. "This is how the bereaved families and the political elite should have an open discussion. I'm not going to break this tradition, not even after the meeting today. We will carry out Israel's obligation to secure the release of every kidnaped individual," he declared.

Israel and Hamas have been unable to reach a cease-fire agreement for several months due to a number of issues, but in particular, the query of whether the war should cease.

In a statement released on Thursday, Hamas restated its stance, stating that it would only free the prisoners in return for an end to the hostilities and the evacuation of Israeli soldiers from Gaza.

Netanyahu has made it clear time and time again that he will not consent to a hostage-taking arrangement that ends the war, citing Israel's obligation to destroy Hamas and avert the risk of another terror attack similar to the one that occurred on October 7. However, Hanegbi's remarks imply that political factors also influence Netanyahu's stance.

Hanegbi, according to Dickman, told the hostage families he thought there was a chance a compromise could be reached that would see the release of certain captives in exchange for a few-week cease-fire.

However, he added, Hanegbi also issued a warning, saying that after Israel's current offensive in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah is over, it will be harder to put pressure on Hamas and the public's focus will move from the enclave and the hostages to a possible conflict with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

"Therefore, I told [Hanegbi] that we're lost. And he answered, "Yes, that's right," Dickman remarked.

For the first time on Friday, the Israeli military acknowledged that its forces were engaged in combat with Hamas in the heart of Rafah, a few days after it came under heavy fire for an attack that caused a large fire that claimed the lives of numerous Palestinians.

The bodies of seven captives that had been found in recent weeks during an operation in Jabalia, northern Gaza, were also announced as having been finished by the Israel Defense Forces.

“The Israeli government made a conscious and deliberate decision to sacrifice the hostages,”  the Hostage Family Forum said.

The public's desire to put an end to the conflict in Gaza in exchange for the captives is depicted inconclusively in Israeli opinion surveys, with survey findings fluctuating according to the topic posed.

Early in May, an Israeli Democracy Institute think tank poll revealed that 37% of Jewish Israelis thought that Israel's top priority should be to launch an offensive in Rafah, while 56% of Jewish Israelis said that ensuring the release of the hostages should be the country's top priority.

However, a another survey conducted last week for the Maariv newspaper revealed that 43% of Israelis thought Israel should keep up its aggressive military operation in Rafah, while 37% thought Israel should give in to Hamas' demand for an end to the battle in exchange for the hostages.

The decline in Netanyahu's approval ratings after the attack on October 7 also seemed to be doing better, according to a well-known survey conducted for Channel 12 that revealed that, for the first time since the war's beginning, he had surpassed his nearest competitor, centrist leader Benny Gantz, in the race for prime minister.

Early elections are being pushed by Gantz's National Unity. The action was in response to a demand made earlier this month by Gantz, a member of Netanyahu's war cabinet, for the prime minister to accept a day-by-day plan for the Gaza assault by June 8.