It Has Never Been About The Hostages
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Saturday night that he would not end the war with Hamas in Gaza until the terror group is removed from power, calling its current demands for a hostage release deal “capitulation conditions.”Speaking in a prerecorded video address that his office described the day before as a “special statement on a diplomatic matter,” Netanyahu argued that Hamas would rehabilitate its military capabilities if the conflict were ended.He asserted that it was not possible to “trick” the terror group into ending the war in return for the hostages and then resume military operations, due to “binding” international commitments Hamas was demanding as part of an end to hostilities. Those who were suggesting this “illusion of deception” had no idea how international politics works, he said.The prime minister also accused Hamas of stymying a recently proposed deal for the return of Israeli hostages due to its demands for a permanent end to the current war and a full Israeli retreat from Gaza, and argued that ending the war would reverse Israel’s achievements during the conflict.The prime minister further vowed in his 12-minute speech that he remained committed to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and slammed recent criticism of his failure to attack Iranian nuclear facilities as hypocrisy.The Hostages and Missing Families Forum accused Netanyahu of having “no plan” to bring back the hostages in response to the prime minister’s comments, and said the only solution was to end the war.
Finance Minster Bezalel Smotrich said Monday that bringing the hostages back from Gaza was “not the most important” goal of the government, a statement that was met with staunch criticism from the families of the hostages and several politicians, including some from the coalition.
Speaking to Radio Galey Israel, the far-right minister said: “We have to say the truth, returning the hostages is not the most important thing.”
“It is obviously a very important goal, but if you want to destroy Hamas so that there can’t be another October 7, you need to understand that there can’t be a situation where Hamas remains in Gaza,” he said.
The terror group, which is still holding 59 hostages, has said it will return them in exchange for Israel ending the war and withdrawing from the Strip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said he is not willing to end the war until Hamas, which rules Gaza, is completely overthrown.
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum, which represents the relatives of the majority of those held captive, said in response to Smotrich that they “have no words this morning except shame.”
“The minister is at least revealing the hard truth to the public, this government has deliberately decided to give up on the hostages,” the statement said. “Smotrich — history will remember how you closed your heart to your brothers and sisters in captivity and chose not to save them.”
“How is it possible that the prime minister says time and time again that this is a supreme goal in his eyes, while his ministers and partners say otherwise?” the forum asked.
“We demand that the government ministers and coalition members issue a clear statement and prove that they are still committed to the basic Jewish and Israeli values of redeeming captives and rescuing our brothers and sisters,” the organization said.
So going forward, let's keep in mind that the leadership here intended to use any issue/action as justification for the current genocide conflict. They just leaned on hostages to create sympathy, and now that sympathy for their cause is in short supply, it's no surprise that a more authentic dialogue is bubbling up to the surface (oh, and bombing places that hostages could/would be kept at should have also been a clue).
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