Family of hostages slams PM for ‘belittling’ their plight, urges him to take initiative for deal

Ali Ziyadne, whose brother Yousef and nephew Hamza remain in Hamas captivity, issues a statement calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cease “belittling the feelings of the families of the hostages.”

During a press conference Saturday night, Netanyahu was pressed to address the plight of the roughly 132 hostages still in Gaza.

The premier responded that no one can put themselves in the “nightmare” situation in which the hostages’ families have found themselves over the past 100 days, adding that his heart is with them and that he will not rest until all of the hostages are returned.

But he went on to say that the hostages’ families cannot put themselves in the shoes of the political decision-makers, suggesting that other considerations need to be taken into account in negotiations to free those held captive.

Some critics of this stance argue that the government must pay whatever price is necessary to free the hostages, given that the state had a responsibility to protect its citizens and failed to do so on October 7.

Ziyadne — a resident of the southern Bedouin town of Rahat whose niece and nephew Aisha and Bilal were released from Hamas captivity during the seven-day a month and a half ago — urges Netanyahu to “take the initiative and put on the table a proposal for a hostage deal to bring them all back now.”

משפחת אל-זיאדנה בקריאה לראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו: די לזלזל ברגשות משפחות החטופים. תהיה רציני, קח יוזמה ותניח על השלוחן הצעה לעסקת חילופי שבויים כדי להחזיר את כולם עכשיו. pic.twitter.com/Yh6tX2POIz

— מוחמד מג'אדלה محمد مجادلة (@mmagadli) January 16, 2024