Police detain 2 hostage relatives, bar them from attending protests without permission

Two relatives of hostages held by terrorists in the Gaza Strip are questioned under caution by police, then released on condition that they do not attend unauthorized demonstrations, a move that excludes them from the large anti-government protests held weekly in various locations around the country.

Natalie Zangauker, sister of Matan Zangauker, 24, and Shahar Mor Zahiro, nephew of Avraham Munder, 78, were summoned to the central Tel Aviv police station.

Zangauker and Zahiro are questioned over incidents at a rally earlier this week that descended into chaotic clashes with police and during which five people were arrested.

It marks the first time that relatives of hostages have been formally questioned by police, though in the past family of hostages have been briefly detained at demonstrations on behalf of the captives or against the government, and then released.

Some families, frustrated that after nearly seven months of war their loved ones are still in captivity, have turned against the government, speaking out publicly against the country’s leaders.