Relatives of Israelis held hostage by Hamas entered a session of the Israeli parliament. They call on the government to make more efforts to release the hostages.
About twenty people disrupted a meeting of the Finance Committee in the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem. Family members fear declining interest in the fate of Israelis held hostage in Gaza. They want the government to do more to free them. After fifteen minutes the meeting can continue again.
About 130 people are still being held hostage. Israel believes that some of the hostages died in captivity. In November, Hamas released some hostages after reaching a temporary ceasefire mediated by Qatar, the United States, and Egypt. Because of this agreement, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners were released from prisons in Israel.
Later, there were many calls for a new agreement to be reached and the hostages released. Israel and Hamas have not yet agreed on the terms of such an agreement.
0:47The families of the hostages disrupt the Israeli parliament session
The demonstrators also staged a sit-in in front of Netanyahu’s house
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he rejects Hamas’ conditions for ending the war and releasing the hostages. According to Netanyahu, one of these demands is for Hamas to remain in power in Gaza. “If we accept this, we cannot guarantee the safety of our citizens,” the Prime Minister said.
Following this news, relatives of the hostages demonstrated in front of Netanyahu’s home in Jerusalem. The demonstrators are asking Netanyahu to “state clearly that Israel will not abandon civilians, soldiers and other hostages.” They camped in front of his house, they said, until the Prime Minister secured the release of the hostages.
Family members of the hostages have demonstrated regularly in recent weeks to draw attention to the fate of the hostages. On Monday, Netanyahu received some relatives of the hostages. The Prime Minister said that “there was no real proposal from Hamas.” Netanyahu also said that Israel is working on its own proposal.
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