Father of slain hostage accuses PM of risking captives, inciting violence, making Israel ‘more dictatorial’

Speaking before some 1,000 anti-government, pro-hostage deal protesters outside the Begin Road entrance to the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, Michel Illouz, father of slain hostage Guy Illouz, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to hurt the captives, and is inciting violence within Israeli society and turning the country less democratic.

Illouz says that in a meeting on Thursday with the premier and eight other hostage families, he asked Netanyahu how the current truce-hostage proposal in Gaza was any different from the previous one, which the prime minister had scuttled after its first phase.

“In the last deal, too, you had no intention of progressing to the second deal,” which would have required Israel to withdraw from the Strip, Illouz says he told Netanyahu. “You’re basically giving up and are willing to sacrifice my son.”

Illouz says he also accused Netanyahu of sowing tensions among the hostage families by deciding which of their loved ones would be included in a deal, thus resembling another “Schindler’s List.”

“When I got no answer,” Illouz says, he told Netanyahu: “I can handle the loss of my son… what I can’t handle is what you are doing to us, Israeli society. You’re sowing discord among us… You’re causing wars within our nation. You need to stop playing your coalition games.”

“Of course, I got no answer,” says Illouz.

To applause, Illouz says he’s “very worried for the future of the State of Israel… which becomes more dictatorial every single day.”

“The Israeli government is carrying out a military operation that could put the hostages’ lives at risk,” he says. “Is that moral? Is that human? Is that Jewish? Is that Israeli?”

After speeches, protesters light a bonfire on the street, sending up a large column of dark smoke. The fire is swiftly put out by cops.

As opposed to recent weeks, tonight’s Begin Road protest was not preceded by an anti-government protest on Habima Square.

Nor did there appear to be a silent vigil on Kaplan Street for Gazan children killed by Israel. The vigil has taken place since Israel ended the last ceasefire with Hamas on March 18.