Hostage’s mother to minister: ‘I will take law into my hands’ if son doesn’t return alive

Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, threatened on Monday to “take the law into her own hands” if her son does not return alive after more than a year of Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking at a hearing of the Knesset Committee for Strengthening and Developing the Negev and Galilee, Zangauker lambasted lawmaker Ze’ev Elkin, a minister in the Finance Ministry, demanding that everything be done to bring Matan and the rest of the hostages home and accusing the Knesset member of abandoning them to die in Gaza.

“If you would do everything, Matan and the rest of the hostages would already be home,” Zangauker said to Elkin, a member of the New Hope party, which entered the government in September. “My Matan should not pay with his life for you to enter the government for a few jobs. The only price I am prepared for you to pay for the abandonment of Matan is your resignation.”

Earlier this month, Hamas released a propaganda video showing the first sign of life from Matan, 14 months after he was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz alongside his girlfriend, Ilana Gritzewsky, who was released in late November 2023 as part of a weeklong truce deal.

In the coerced propaganda video, Matan said he and his fellow captives “die 1,000 deaths every day” and that he has seen how active his mother has been in working to bring him home.

Israel believes that 96 of the 251 hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7 remain in the Strip, a figure that includes the bodies of at least 34 captives confirmed dead by the IDF. In recent days, Israeli officials have indicated that a deal is closer than ever, with many reports indicating that a first stage of any such deal would only free a limited number of hostages.

Addressing Elkin during the committee hearing on Monday, Zangauker proclaimed that “my son is alive but you are continuing to abandon him…. If my boy returns in a body bag, or in pieces, I won’t put you on trial, I will take the law into my own hands,” she shouted. “My child is alive and there are others like him.”

Any partial deal that only brings home some of the hostages being held in Gaza is unacceptable, she said.

Zangauker accused Elkin and the government of falsely claiming that they will succeed in bringing everyone home, suggesting that there are “bodies of those who were murdered in captivity or killed and kidnapped on October 7 and you will never succeed in finding their bodies. Stop with the cynical use of ‘we’ll bring them all home.’ Stop lying, tell the truth.”

She yelled at Elkin to “remove the kippa that is on your head. You are insulting Judaism… God sees the real intentions of people… the path, the values, and that’s what you’ve lost — you and your partners in this government.”

Zangauker lamented that “two doormats” — Elkin and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir — “are supposed to decide the fate of my Matan. The fate of another 99 hostages. You’re clowns.”

Over the past 14 months, Zangauker has been one of the most public and vocal voices among the family members of the hostages.

Speaking at the weekly rally in Tel Aviv demanding a hostage deal, Zangauker said Saturday evening that she will become the “worst nightmare” of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if her son does not return home alive.

“I know from talks with officials in the negotiations that you have no intention of bringing back Matan, that you lied to me,” she said. “That you have no intention to end the war in return for a comprehensive deal.”

“You said you are committed to bring back everyone, but you are planning to bring only a few home and kill the rest with military pressure,” Zangauker accused. “I’m not threatening, I’m letting you know: You will have no forgiveness, no clemency. I, personally, will chase you if my Matan comes home in a body bag. I will be your worst nightmare.”