Hostage families report “horror” at Netanyahu

Hostage deal or continuation of the war? Relatives of the kidnapped Israelis report a conversation that is said to have shown Netanyahu's calculation.

“We were horrified.” Gil Dickmann told the US broadcaster NBC on Friday. In the interview, Dickmann spoke of a meeting to which the families of the hostages kidnapped from Israel by the terrorist organization Hamas had been invited by an Israeli government spokesman. “The way he sees it, Israel will not end the war at this point.”

But the statement that shocked Dickmann and the other relatives is a different one: “We understand that the only way to bring all the hostages back is a deal that brings the war to an end,” the spokesman is said to have said. But Netanyahu is not currently prepared to do that. “He told us that Netanyahu could only be persuaded to do so if it was politically advantageous for him. Only when he sees polls that show that the population wants the hostages to return home more than the war to continue, will he make a deal.”

Video | Hostages' families put pressure on Netanyahu

Source: reuters

The “Hostage Family Forum”, the association of hostage relatives, sharply criticized Netanyahu on Friday. “The government consciously and voluntarily decided to sacrifice the hostages.” The hostages and the entire country are in the captivity of those “who put their political interests before their duty to the nation.” This refers to the Netanyahu government, which did not want to comment on the content of Dickmann's interview and the statement by the “Hostage Family Forum”.

In recent weeks, Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that he does not want to make the release of the hostages part of the negotiations to end the war in Gaza. The priority is the destruction of the terrorist group Hamas. Hamas, for its part, has stated that the release of the hostages is only possible if Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza.

The peace plan that US President Joe Biden presented on Friday is also part of this mix. Biden explained that the plan was also that of the Israeli government. Insiders confirmed to the New York Times, among others, that the Israeli side had indeed presented this deal to mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the USA. This would be in direct contradiction to Netanyahu's public statements, but also those reported by the Hostage Family Forum. The plan is intended to provide for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in the first stage, and ultimately culminate in a permanent end to the war.

The US President has, it seems, made the Netanyahu government's negotiation plans public – and thereby put Israel's Prime Minister in a difficult position. “Biden asked a simple question,” Netanyahu biographer and critic Ben Caspit explains to the New York Times: “Does Bibi (Netanyahu's nickname, editor's note) support Netanyahu's proposal? Yes or no. No nonsense, no hot air.” In other words: Does the Israeli Prime Minister now also publicly support the plan that he previously negotiated behind closed doors?

So will Israel continue the war in Gaza or will the government agree to a compromise with a ceasefire and the release of at least some hostages – assuming Hamas also accepts the deal? No matter what Netanyahu does, his political future is currently anything but certain.

If Netanyahu rejects the deal made by his own negotiating group, he risks losing the support of the centrists. Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, politicians from the National Unity party, have announced that they will end their support for Netanyahu if the prime minister has not presented a long-term plan by June 8.

If Netanyahu accepts the compromise, he risks the support of the right-wing parts of his government: Ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have already declared that they want to overthrow Netanyahu if his government signs any deal before Hamas is destroyed.

The population in Israel is also divided: In one survey, 56 percent of respondents said that the release of the hostages was their highest priority. Just over a third, however, named the offensive in Rafah as their top priority. In another survey, 37 percent of Israelis declared their support for a deal with Hamas, while 43 percent were in favor of further military offensives against the terrorist group. Netanyahu's “Likud” party is behind the centrist “National Unity” led by Benny Gantz in current polls.