‘I don’t know how I let my son make aliyah’: Hostage dad fumes over PM’s planned ‘politically motivated’ firing of Gallant

The parents of Israeli-American hostage Omer Neutra fume over reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning on appointing New Hope chair Gideon Sa’ar as defense minister instead of Yoav Gallant, who has been the loudest voice in the government for a hostage deal.

“The prime minister knowingly has created a situation in which he is taking a defense minister who is interested and knows that the state is able and must reach a hostage deal — one that the majority of the country supports — and through Gallant’s firing will take someone who might not be interested in a deal, thereby leaving our kids in Gaza,” Ronen Neutra tells Channel 13.

“The thought that political motives are the only determining factors here is just shocking,” he adds.

“I don’t know how I let my son immigrate to Israel and enlist,” Neutra laments.

His wife Orna acknowledges that this is a very devastating statement, but explains that they educated their son on values that they believed the State of Israel stood for — sanctifying life and mutual solidarity.

It was because of those values that Omer chose to move to Israel, enlist in the army, and become an officer, but he has been “abandoned” by the government since October 7, she says.