After some families of hostages joined forces over the weekend with protesters seeking to oust the Netanyahu government, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office told JNS that Jerusalem continues to believe that sustained military pressure against Hamas in Gaza is necessary to secure the release of the captives.
“We believe that pursuing the diplomatic avenue combined with heavy military pressure on Hamas is what worked best back in November and brought the release of [over 100] hostages [as part of a ceasefire agreement], and we are still pursuing these two paths,” the spokesperson said.
“Hamas’s outlandish demands show they are not serious about the negotiations; we are not going to cave to each and every one of their whims,” she added. “Obviously, there are no good solutions, only trade-offs, but we were willing to go to several lengths while Hamas has rejected any kind of U.S. proposal for a compromise so far.”
Anti-government protesters gathered at the Knesset on Sunday night, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resign, agree to early elections and immediately accept a ceasefire with Hamas to secure the release of the remaining 134 hostages being held by the terror group, at any cost.
The gathering was organized by a coalition of left-wing groups, including Brothers in Arms and the Kaplan Force, that previously coordinated protests against the government’s now-shelved judicial reform initiative.
A day earlier, tens of thousands of demonstrators calling for early elections and the release of the hostages took to the streets of Tel Aviv and other cities across Israel.
Sixteen people were arrested for blocking roads and violating public order, according to police, who used water cannons to disperse demonstrators.
“Not all the hostage families are joining the movement to overthrow the government, just some. The hostage families are a microcosm of Israeli society, which includes people from the left, the center and the right,” the PMO spokesperson told JNS.
“Not every hostage family thinks the same or believes that a specific strategy is the best. At the end of the day, we want the same things: the release of all hostages and the end of the Hamas regime,” she concluded.
The Tikva Forum for Families of Hostages has sharply criticized calls to join the anti-government protests, arguing that politicizing the matter could backfire.
The group is an alternative to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the largest organization representing relatives of the captives.
A “significant number” of abductees’ families were “shocked” by the push to politicize the matter, the Forum said on Saturday evening.
“Political organizations making a lot of noise before Oct. 7 and that were opposing the judicial reform and fighting against the government are now using a handful of hostage families for their own needs,” Shimon Or, one of some three dozen families from the Tikvah Forum, told JNS.
Or’s nephew Avinatan Or, 30, was kidnapped from the Supernova music festival along with his girlfriend, 26-year-old Noa Argamani.
However, others believe that whatever is being done to bring their loved ones home, it simply isn’t enough.
Shai Benjamin, whose father Ron, 52, was kidnapped near Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7 recently met with members of the War Cabinet, urging them to take action.
“They’re not saying much; I don’t know if they can say much,” she told JNS. “They say that they care and that they’re doing everything they can, but it’s not enough. He still hasn’t been released six months later. It’s not enough.”
Ron Benjamin’s car was located near Kibbutz Mefalsim on Oct. 7 and he was declared a missing person until authorities finally confirmed 57 days later that he had been kidnapped.
“They need to do everything to bring all of the hostages back. It is the most important thing. We need to get to a deal as soon as possible and get them out. We’ll take care of the rest afterwards,” said Shai.
