A number of relatives of kidnapped Israelis in Gaza oppose the deal to release 50 hostages, in exchange for about 150 Palestinian prisoners, an agreement whose implementation began on Friday with the release of the first 13 hostages.
“The correct and most effective way to get the hostages back is to put relentless pressure on Hamas, so that the hostages become a burden on it,” says a spokesman for Tikva, a new forum for families of hostages who oppose making hostage deals with Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization. Instead of being a source of strength.
The new forum was founded by Eliyahu Lipman, who is also the mayor of the Kiryat Arba settlement near Hebron in the West Bank, and whose son Elyakim is believed to be being held hostage following the October 7 attack.
Lipman declined an interview request.The Times of Israel“, the newspaper reported, noting that a spokesman for the forum said that members “decided to stop conducting interviews on this topic.”
Qatar, along with Egypt and the United States, reached a truce agreement for four days, which can be extended, which stipulates the exchange of 50 hostages held in Gaza for 150 Palestinian detainees in Israel.
On Friday, Hamas released 24 people, including 13 Israeli women and children, 10 people from Thailand and one Filipino, while Israel released 39 Palestinians from its prisons.
Another Tikvah parent, Zvika Mor, also opposes the deal.
Moore, who says his son is in Gaza, told Channel 14, “Our big stop to receive the hostages raises their price.”
In contrast, Keren Gonen, whose sister Rumi is believed to be being held hostage, rejects these considerations.
“I don’t care about anything. Nothing else should matter. Getting the hostages back is the only thing that should matter,” she told The Times of Israel during a solidarity rally in Tel Aviv with the hostages and their families.
On the other hand, signs of joy accompanied the return of Palestinian prisoners who were released by Israel under the agreement, as happened in Beitunia and the Nablus refugee camp.
Large crowds received the Palestinian prisoners when they landed in Beitunia, and many of them chanted “God is great.” Firecrackers were set off, lighting up the sky.
The participants raised a number of the released prisoners on their shoulders and waved Palestinian flags and the flags of the Hamas and Fatah movements, according to video footage from Agence France-Presse.
On Saturday, it is expected that more Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners will be released on the second day of the truce between Hamas and Israel, an agreement that brought some fragile calm to the residents of Gaza after seven weeks of war.
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2023-11-25 04:56:57
