ostage Families Confront Israeli Hardliner Smotrich in Heated Exchange
ostage Families Confront Israeli Hardliner Smotrich in Heated Exchange
JERUSALEM, January 13 – Frustrated relatives of Israelis held hostage in Gaza confronted Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday regarding his disapproval of a deal being negotiated in Qatar to cease hostilities and secure the return of their loved ones.
Smotrich labeled the emerging agreement as “a catastrophe” for Israel’s security, asserting that the country should continue its offensive in Gaza until Hamas, the militant organization governing the area before the conflict, fully surrenders. Numerous family members of the hostages, many holding photos of the missing individuals, crowded into a committee room in the Israeli Knesset where the finance committee was discussing the 2025 budget.
Some were furious, while others were in tears and imploring as they confronted Smotrich in a highly emotional meeting that extended for over an hour, accusing him of neglecting the plight of the 98 Israeli and foreign hostages still held in Gaza.
“These abducted individuals can be brought back,” stated Ofir Angrest, whose sibling Matan was taken during the Hamas-led assault on Israel on October 7, 2023. “The situation is conducive; it’s the appropriate time for an agreement, as stated by the Prime Minister. How can you, the Minister of Finance, be against the return of all these captives?” Smotrich, a leader of one of the hardline nationalist religious factions in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, has been one of the most vocal opponents of a deal, which he termed a “surrender” to Hamas. Qatar, currently facilitating the negotiations along with Egypt and the United States, announced that it had provided both Israel and Hamas with a draft accord following an overnight “breakthrough.
” Yechiel Yehud, whose daughter Arbel was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz and whose son Dolev was killed, reminded Smotrich of his visit to their home in the kibbutz. “I understand your intentions.
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