Netanyahu is giving the country 101 Ron Arads: Israeli captive's mom

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
14 Sep 2024 21:23

Tens of thousands are protesting in Tel Aviv, demanding their government agree to a prisoner exchange deal to release captives in the Gaza Strip.

Listen

Israeli protesters lift flags and placards during an anti-government rally demanding a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal be signed by authorities with the Palestinian Resistance to ensure the release of Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip, near the Kirya, the headquarters of Israeli occupation forces, in Tel Aviv, occupied Palestine, on September 14, 2024 (AFP)

The families of Israeli captives accused Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of abandoning their family members in favor of war in the north.

Einav Zanguaker, the mother of a captive held in the Gaza Strip, said that Netanyahu shifted the focus of the war from the Gaza Strip to the north and abandoned captives.

She said that Netanyahu decided to "abandon the captives to die in the tunnels."

Currently, Israeli authorities estimate that 101 Israeli captives, including four imprisoned on events unrelated to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, are being held by the Palestinian Resistance in the Gaza Strip.

Zanguaker said that Netanyahu is giving Israelis "101 Ron Arad," referring to an Israeli military pilot who was captured in 1986 by Lebanese Resistance fighters and has since then disappeared.

She also criticized the Israeli military pressure for "killing the captives," emphasizing that there is a "deal on the table that is ready to be signed now."

"This week Hamas again repeated its agreement (to a deal). But Netanyahu continues to insist on his hollow Philadelphi spin to sink the deal," she added, referring to Netanyahu's insistence on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian-Egyptian border area in the Gaza Strip.

Another family member of an Israeli captive said that Netanyahu must be removed from power in order to retrieve the captives.

Meanwhile, thousands of Israeli settlers took to the streets in Tel Aviv to protest the government's policies, demanding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the signing of a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian Resistance.

Protesters gathered in Tel Aviv's Begin Road just outside the Kirya, the headquarters of Israeli occupation forces.

This marks the second week that protesters rallied on the Begin Road, a major thoroughfare in the area, and merged with anti-government protests in Kaplan Street.

Organizers had said that nearly half a million settlers participated in last week's protests, which would mark the largest-ever demonstration of Israeli settlers in their regime's history.