From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 20, 2025
Lawmakers halt Knesset committee proceedings following return of caskets said to contain slain hostages
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Lawmakers halt the proceedings of two committees following the return of four caskets said to contain the remains of hostages Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas as well as Oded Lifshitz.
“We are all facing a difficult day to digest as the people of Israel, as Jews and as human beings,” says Knesset Finance and Internal Affairs and Environment Committee chairman Yaakov Asher (UTJ), halting his committee’s discussion.
Following the cruel murder of the elderly and infants, “the only consolation is that they were returned to the Holy Land,” he says. “We share in the mourning of the families. We had hoped that they would survive, and to our great regret, that was not the case. Our father, our king, avenge the blood of your servants that was shed.”
Following calls from opposition lawmakers, United Torah Judaism MK Yitzhak Pindrus likewise halts a meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee, which he was chairing in place of Moshe Gafni.
“On this difficult day, we are all with the families and the hostages,” he says, postponing the discussion until Sunday.
The Times of Israel Community.