Netanyahu tells captives' families he cannot return all their children

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli Media
5 Dec 2023 23:24

Israeli Prime Minsiter Benjamin Netanyahu tells Israeli settlers that he would not be able to return all those who were captured from Gaza.

Israelis demonstrate against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government during a protest outside the Knesset in al-Quds, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023 (AP)

Israeli cabinet ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, met with the families of the Israeli settlers taken captive by the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza, Maariv reported Tuesday - and it seems that the meeting could have gone better.

The families, according to Maariv, left the meeting fuming and were outraged and dissatisfied with what the ministers had to say to them.

The meeting was filled with chaos and shouting, one Israeli media outlet said, "as soon as Netanyahu told the families of the hostages that there was no room to bring back all the hostages."

The settlers attending the meeting screamed in Netanayhu's face and demanded that their relatives be returned.

"Look at what is happening around you. Hamas got what it wanted. You tore the Israelis apart," one attendee said during the meeting, as quoted by Israeli Channel 12.

"The meeting with the war cabinet was greatly shameful, and this all started with the failed organization of this meeting," another attendee said.

She also wondered how the ministers could run the cabinet and the military if they could not even organize a meeting with the families of the captured Israeli settlers.

"While the security minister was talking about freeing the hostages, I stood up and told him that he was insulting the intelligence of everyone in the room, for the decision to free those who were freed was taken by al-Sinwar, and the person running the war and controlling its pace is al-Sinwar. And then I left," the Israeli settler added.

Finally, she voiced her concerns about the Israeli occupation's bombing campaigns affecting the captives.

Growing opposition

Israeli media also reported that the meeting witnessed a quarrel among members of the families of the captives, a stampede, and an exchange of insults, after all of which they were divided between supporters and opponents to the continuation of the military operation in Gaza.

Israeli media outlets reported Sunday that tens of thousands of Israeli settlers took part in a massive demonstration staged in "Tel Aviv" by families of Israeli captives held by the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza since October 7 against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

According to the media, the demonstration saw released captives speaking in a video broadcast before the public, urging the Netanyahu government to secure the release of the remaining captives.

Demonstrators held up banners saying, "We are dying because of Netanyahu's policies," demanding an end to the war and the release of all Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip.

There were also reports of a large protest in occupied Haifa, where Israeli settlers called for the dismissal of Netanyahu's government.

Earlier, Israeli media confirmed that Netanyahu's government continues to evade its responsibilities, especially as the Israeli police have begun to take stricter measures against protesters demanding the government's resignation outside the Knesset for the past three weeks.

A poll showed that 80% of the Israeli public, an overwhelming majorty, believe that Netanyahu bears responsibility for the events after October 7.

Truce in Gaza

This comes as the Qatari and US-mediated truce between the Palestinian Resistance and the Israeli occupation expired on Friday morning without an extension. The deal saw the release of 80 Israeli captives, mostly women and children, in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners over the course of a week.

Immediately after the expiration of the truce, the Israeli occupation resumed bombing civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, adding further massacres against the Palestinian people to its account. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, the number of Palestinians killed since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza has risen to 15,207 martyrs, in addition to 40,652 injuries, most of whom are children and women.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian commented on the resumption of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, calling out the US-Israeli aggression as a "new genocide in Gaza."

Amir-Abdollahian said in his post on X that the only way the Israelis can free their captives is through "an open-ended ceasefire, the extensive delivery of humanitarian aid, and agreement on fresh exchange of prisoners."

The captives, Iran's Foreign Minister pointed out, are not being released through "Israel's" aggression, rather they are dying in Israeli strikes.

Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas held the Israeli occupation responsible for resuming the aggression on the Gaza Strip after it refused to accept proposals to release Israeli captives.