Israel, US: Hamas blocking hostage deal
Nov 13, 2024 20:14:39 GMT -5
Post by shalom on Nov 13, 2024 20:14:39 GMT -5
Israel, US: Hamas blocking hostage deal
“It is Hamas who keeps throwing in conditions that are unreasonable and impossible, and it is Hamas that has delayed the negotiations and the release of our people,” David Mencer told JNS.
By Amelie Botbol
(Nov. 13, 2024 / JNS)
An Israeli government spokesperson reiterated to JNS on Tuesday that Hamas remains the main impediment to securing the release of the 101 men, women and children who have been held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip since the terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
“It is Hamas who keeps throwing in conditions that are unreasonable and impossible, and it is Hamas that has delayed the negotiations and the release of our people,” David Mencer told JNS in a press briefing on Tuesday.
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“Every moment that hostages are being held is a war crime and a humanitarian crime, and Hamas needs to release them now,” he added.
Mencer did not say whether an Israeli delegation would travel to Cairo or Doha—the parties that have been working to broker a dialogue—with a view to jump-starting talks but stressed that returning the captives remains the highest priority of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
“The Israeli government and the prime minister have said that the release of hostages—all 101 of them—held for more than 400 days by Hamas in the dungeons of Gaza is their highest priority,” he said.
On Nov. 5, Israeli media reported that Netanyahu presented a proposal that would see Jerusalem pay “several million dollars” for each hostage in exchange for safe passage abroad for the captors and their families.
“Israel will leave no stone unturned; we will go everywhere and do everything to get them out alive and get the bodies of the deceased for decent burial. It is Hamas who is holding them, refuses to release them, and is responsible for their continued captivity,” he added.
On Sunday, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan echoed these statements, saying on CBS’s “Face the Nation” news analysis show: “What I will tell you is, whatever Hamas is saying publicly, what they are communicating to the mediators is no, we will not do a ceasefire and hostage deal at this time.”
“So what we need to do is get the rest of the world to continue to increase pressure on Hamas to come to the table, to do a deal in Gaza, because the Israeli government has said it’s prepared to take a temporary step in that direction,” Sullivan added.
‘It is over 400 days’
Families of hostages converged on Washington, D.C., this week for the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America, where they met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday ahead of his meeting with U.S. President Biden on Tuesday.
“We asked the president to emphasize the plight of the hostages in his upcoming meeting with Biden and that there cannot be a ceasefire deal in Lebanon without the release of the hostages,” Ruby Chen, the father of American-Israeli captive IDF Sgt. Itay Chen, told JNS on Tuesday.
“The Jewish organizations have not been supportive of the hostage cause. They’ve been supportive financially, but this humanitarian issue has not been advocated enough in the United States by them to the current administration and to the Israeli government as the most important issue for them, and we’d like to see that,” he added.
Addressing the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections on Nov. 5, when former President Donald Trump emerged victorious by a landslide, Chen said the families need to find and leverage the opportunity in front of them to bring about the release of the hostages.
“We marked 100 days, 200 days, 300 days, and now, it is over 400 days. When will this end? It is the responsibility of those in charge to get our loved ones back. The Israeli government led by the prime minister must answer and can’t deflect that to other entities or people,” Chen, who plans to leave the U.S. capital on Wednesday for Miami to attend the CTech conference by Calcalist, told JNS.
Wish tree
A message on a “wish tree” in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. Credit: UnitEd, Israeli government.
‘We are here to raise awareness’
Also attending the JFNA General Assembly were Ronen and Orna Neutra, the parents of captive Omer Neutra and Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of captive Sagui Dekel-Chen, two of seven dual American-Israeli citizens held by Hamas in Gaza.
“We are here raise awareness, keep the hostages on the front burner of North American Jewish life, and call for more action from the JFNA and major Jewish organizations not just in the form of prayers or financial generosity, but take action on behalf of the hostages in the form of moral pressure on the Israeli government,” Dekel-Chen told JNS on Monday.
“There are hostages still with citizenship from more than 20 countries. The U.S., by far, has been the most active in its efforts to get all the hostages home—and not just the U.S. citizens. As hostage families, we have no complaints; whether it’s enough is a different story,” he said.
“President Biden has said many times that the U.S. administration and the world will have done enough for the hostages when they are home and that is the truth,” Dekel-Chen added.
Concerning President-elect Trump’s return to power, Dekel-Chen remained skeptical as to whether it would speed up the process of freeing the captives. “I don’t have the luxury of being optimistic 14 months after the massacre which killed 59 of my friends from Kibbutz Nir Oz. We still have 29 hostages there,” he said.
“It remains to be seen whether President Trump and his administration will be able to push the sides any more than the Biden administration has, the proof will be in the outcome. Statements alone won’t get our hostages home,” he added.
Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod was abducted by Hamas into the Gaza Strip, showed cautious optimism regarding the impact that the outcome of the U.S. election could have on the plight of the hostages.
“President-elect Trump has said he wants the war to be over by the time he enters the White House. It means he probably also pushes behind closed doors for it. It’s the only way for my son Nimrod and all the other hostages to come back, and that’s why I’m here,” he said.
Dalia Kushnir, the sister-in-law of dual Argentinian-Israeli citizens and Hamas captives Eitan and Yair Horn, told JNS that she came to the JFNA with one clear expectation.
“It is for the Jewish leadership to be once and for all brave, and call on the Israeli government to conclude a deal now. It’s not being political or being against Prime Minister Netanyahu—it’s being in support of Israel, the Jewish people and Jewish history,” Kushnir told JNS.
“Defense leaders have told us that it is not possible to release all hostages in rescue operations, and we need the Jewish people to be with us; otherwise, everyone will apologize later and ask themselves where they were,” she added. “The time for courageous leadership is now.”
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“It is Hamas who keeps throwing in conditions that are unreasonable and impossible, and it is Hamas that has delayed the negotiations and the release of our people,” David Mencer told JNS.
By Amelie Botbol
(Nov. 13, 2024 / JNS)
An Israeli government spokesperson reiterated to JNS on Tuesday that Hamas remains the main impediment to securing the release of the 101 men, women and children who have been held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip since the terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
“It is Hamas who keeps throwing in conditions that are unreasonable and impossible, and it is Hamas that has delayed the negotiations and the release of our people,” David Mencer told JNS in a press briefing on Tuesday.
Subscribe to The JNS Daily Syndicate by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to receive emails from JNS and allied pro-Israel organizations.
“Every moment that hostages are being held is a war crime and a humanitarian crime, and Hamas needs to release them now,” he added.
Mencer did not say whether an Israeli delegation would travel to Cairo or Doha—the parties that have been working to broker a dialogue—with a view to jump-starting talks but stressed that returning the captives remains the highest priority of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
“The Israeli government and the prime minister have said that the release of hostages—all 101 of them—held for more than 400 days by Hamas in the dungeons of Gaza is their highest priority,” he said.
On Nov. 5, Israeli media reported that Netanyahu presented a proposal that would see Jerusalem pay “several million dollars” for each hostage in exchange for safe passage abroad for the captors and their families.
“Israel will leave no stone unturned; we will go everywhere and do everything to get them out alive and get the bodies of the deceased for decent burial. It is Hamas who is holding them, refuses to release them, and is responsible for their continued captivity,” he added.
On Sunday, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan echoed these statements, saying on CBS’s “Face the Nation” news analysis show: “What I will tell you is, whatever Hamas is saying publicly, what they are communicating to the mediators is no, we will not do a ceasefire and hostage deal at this time.”
“So what we need to do is get the rest of the world to continue to increase pressure on Hamas to come to the table, to do a deal in Gaza, because the Israeli government has said it’s prepared to take a temporary step in that direction,” Sullivan added.
‘It is over 400 days’
Families of hostages converged on Washington, D.C., this week for the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America, where they met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday ahead of his meeting with U.S. President Biden on Tuesday.
“We asked the president to emphasize the plight of the hostages in his upcoming meeting with Biden and that there cannot be a ceasefire deal in Lebanon without the release of the hostages,” Ruby Chen, the father of American-Israeli captive IDF Sgt. Itay Chen, told JNS on Tuesday.
“The Jewish organizations have not been supportive of the hostage cause. They’ve been supportive financially, but this humanitarian issue has not been advocated enough in the United States by them to the current administration and to the Israeli government as the most important issue for them, and we’d like to see that,” he added.
Addressing the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections on Nov. 5, when former President Donald Trump emerged victorious by a landslide, Chen said the families need to find and leverage the opportunity in front of them to bring about the release of the hostages.
“We marked 100 days, 200 days, 300 days, and now, it is over 400 days. When will this end? It is the responsibility of those in charge to get our loved ones back. The Israeli government led by the prime minister must answer and can’t deflect that to other entities or people,” Chen, who plans to leave the U.S. capital on Wednesday for Miami to attend the CTech conference by Calcalist, told JNS.
Wish tree
A message on a “wish tree” in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. Credit: UnitEd, Israeli government.
‘We are here to raise awareness’
Also attending the JFNA General Assembly were Ronen and Orna Neutra, the parents of captive Omer Neutra and Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of captive Sagui Dekel-Chen, two of seven dual American-Israeli citizens held by Hamas in Gaza.
“We are here raise awareness, keep the hostages on the front burner of North American Jewish life, and call for more action from the JFNA and major Jewish organizations not just in the form of prayers or financial generosity, but take action on behalf of the hostages in the form of moral pressure on the Israeli government,” Dekel-Chen told JNS on Monday.
“There are hostages still with citizenship from more than 20 countries. The U.S., by far, has been the most active in its efforts to get all the hostages home—and not just the U.S. citizens. As hostage families, we have no complaints; whether it’s enough is a different story,” he said.
“President Biden has said many times that the U.S. administration and the world will have done enough for the hostages when they are home and that is the truth,” Dekel-Chen added.
Concerning President-elect Trump’s return to power, Dekel-Chen remained skeptical as to whether it would speed up the process of freeing the captives. “I don’t have the luxury of being optimistic 14 months after the massacre which killed 59 of my friends from Kibbutz Nir Oz. We still have 29 hostages there,” he said.
“It remains to be seen whether President Trump and his administration will be able to push the sides any more than the Biden administration has, the proof will be in the outcome. Statements alone won’t get our hostages home,” he added.
Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod was abducted by Hamas into the Gaza Strip, showed cautious optimism regarding the impact that the outcome of the U.S. election could have on the plight of the hostages.
“President-elect Trump has said he wants the war to be over by the time he enters the White House. It means he probably also pushes behind closed doors for it. It’s the only way for my son Nimrod and all the other hostages to come back, and that’s why I’m here,” he said.
Dalia Kushnir, the sister-in-law of dual Argentinian-Israeli citizens and Hamas captives Eitan and Yair Horn, told JNS that she came to the JFNA with one clear expectation.
“It is for the Jewish leadership to be once and for all brave, and call on the Israeli government to conclude a deal now. It’s not being political or being against Prime Minister Netanyahu—it’s being in support of Israel, the Jewish people and Jewish history,” Kushnir told JNS.
“Defense leaders have told us that it is not possible to release all hostages in rescue operations, and we need the Jewish people to be with us; otherwise, everyone will apologize later and ask themselves where they were,” she added. “The time for courageous leadership is now.”
link
