Israeli MPs shout down families of hostages in angry Knesset clash
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
H ardline Israeli MPs shouted at relatives of hostages captured by Hamas as they clashed over a bill to impose the death penalty on convicted terrorists.
Right-wing members of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, told families they were being exploited by Hamas during the ugly confrontation.
It came as relatives of hostages told MPs to “stop talking about killing Arabs and start speaking about saving Jews” during the row, which highlighted how divisions over the conflict are deepening in Israel.
The families were attending the Knesset on Monday to oppose the death penalty bill, which could be applied to Hamas attackers.
The hearing descended into chaos as members of both sides started shouting and pointing their fingers at each other.
Almog Cohen, from the hard-Right Otzma Yehudit party, which drafted the bill earlier this year, told families: “You have no monopoly over pain. We have also buried more than 50 friends.”
Families of several hostages vehemently oppose the bill, fearing it will only exacerbate the plight of their loved ones in Gaza.
“Stop talking about killing Arabs and start speaking about saving Jews,” one man, whose wife and daughter were abducted, shouted back at Cohen.
Other Knesset members insisted that Israel could be safe only if it cracked down further on Hamas.
“Each of the terrorists is an [Adolf] Eichmann,” Tzvika Foghel said, referring to one of the infamous organisers of the Holocaust. “Each of them, without exception, must face the gallows.”
‘Hamas is trying to exploit you’
A family member of a hostage asked Mr Foghel if he thought relatives were being used by Hamas.
He replied: “I am hinting that Hamas is trying to exploit you, yes. And I’m not hinting. I’m saying it openly.”
Mr Foghel added: “We do not need to feed these beasts, we don’t need to continue to raise this monster… This [legislation] does not contradict the goal of bringing back the hostages.
“And anyone who tries to present it as a contradiction is someone who is trying to represent Hamas more than the state of Israel.”
Israel entered the war against Hamas with what has been described as the most Right-wing government in its history.
Even though most Israelis support the ground operation in Gaza, their patience with Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s prime minister, and his Right-wing allies, who he allowed into his cabinet to keep him in power, is running out.
Opinion polls show the majority of Israelis want Mr Netanyahu to step down once the war is over, while a minority would prefer him to resign immediately.
A survey by Channel 12 last weekend showed that the opposition would win if fresh elections were held this week.
Hostage hopes
Talks were underway on Monday between Israel and Hamas to secure the release of some of the hostages in exchange for a brief ceasefire , Israeli media reported.
The Haaretz newspaper cited unnamed officials saying they were cautiously optimistic. Two previous attempts to get at least some of the hostages released have failed.
But the latest discussions were briefly paused after Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader in Gaza, fell silent and stopped engaging with envoys in Doha after Israel Defense Forces (IDF) raided the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City last week , according to Axios.
He reportedly resurfaced a day later.
Hamas has released just four of the around 240 hostages it captured on Oct 7 .
Some of the families have opposed Israel’s ground operation inside Gaza, fearing it will endanger their safety. Most relatives are unaware of their loved ones’ whereabouts or condition.
The IDF has accused Hamas of using Gaza’s hospitals as well as its sprawling network of underground tunnels to hide its captives.
Hamas representatives have alleged many of the Israelis kidnapped on Oct 7 ::were taken by other armed factions or individuals, and say the group would need a ceasefire to try to locate them all.
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That exhibition should certainly help heal the divide in Israel. /S
I could see this coming. I knew they would view the hostages as collateral damage.
The hard right, if they look and treat the hostages as collateral damage there is a very good chance they will out of office in short order.
in all reality, I'd be surprised if half of the remaining hostages are still alive, if even that many. extremists on both sides benefit as long as the innocent remain hostages that are thought to still be alive.
Sadly, that could well be true and things in Israel seem to be running off the rails when the MPs attack the family of hostages.
aren't these the same jag-offs that have exempted themselves from military service in the IDF?
fuck them.
it's no secret how I feel about any religious extremists...
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I believe that some of them are, devan and that is a real problem with the general public who are required to serve in the IDF.