Hostages and Missing Families Forum called for a ‘return to the negotiating table’.
Families of Israeli captives held in Gaza have intensified their criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid large protests across the country, as the expanded military ground offensive and deadly bombardment in the Palestinian territory put the release of their loved ones at risk.
On Saturday, protesters took to the streets in Tel Aviv, Shar HaNegev Junction, Kiryat Gat, and Jerusalem, with members of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum accusing the Israeli government of prioritising its war over securing the return of their relatives.
“We demand that the decision-makers return to the negotiating table and not leave it until an agreement is reached that will bring them all back,” the group said in a statement on Saturday.
Among those speaking at a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday was Einav Zangauker, the mother of captive Matan Zangauker, who directly addressed Netanyahu: “Tell me, Mr Prime Minister: How do you go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning. How do you look in the mirror knowing that you’re abandoning 58 hostages?”
The mounting anger among families has only deepened in recent days following Netanyahu’s nomination of Major General David Zini as the next head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency.
Zini has reportedly voiced opposition to any deal to bring an end to Israel’s war on Gaza, telling colleagues during Israeli military meetings: “I oppose hostage deals. This is a forever war,” according to Israel’s Channel 12.
“The families of the kidnapped are outraged by the words of Major General Zini. If the publication is true, these are shocking and condemnable words coming from someone who will be the one to decide the fate of the kidnapped men and women,” the forum said in a statement on Friday.
“Appointing a Shin Bet chief who puts Netanyahu’s war before the abduction of the kidnapped is tantamount to committing a crime and doing injustice to the entire people of Israel,” the group said.
Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman, says Netanyahu’s new appointment “wants military pressure and escalation in the war on Gaza, and that’s why he was chosen”.
“But there’s a lot of pressure on Netanyahu internationally in the last couple of weeks to try to get Israel to end the blockade of Gaza and stop the war altogether, and the expanding military operations. The military says all the brigades called up are now operating inside Gaza, she continued.
“Family members say the intensified attacks will only kill the remaining captives. But Netanyahu is part of the most right-wing Israeli government in Israel’s history – people who have largely been against any ceasefire deal, largely against any end to the war”, she added.
Netanyahu’s decision to appoint Zini came just one day after Israel’s Supreme Court found his attempt to fire outgoing Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to be “unlawful”, citing a conflict of interest tied to Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial.
Despite the court ruling that Netanyahu could not appoint a replacement, he proceeded with the appointment of Zini anyway.
The attorney general later warned that the prime minister had defied legal guidance and tainted the appointment process.
The criticism comes as Netanyahu still faces an international arrest warrant request from the International Criminal Court over war crimes committed during the Gaza war.
