Families of Israeli hostages stormed a parliamentary committee hearing in Jerusalem, urging lawmakers to rescue their loved ones from Hamas terrorists.
A video posted on Monday shows a group of 20 men and women chanting slogans and dragging signs in the middle of a discussion held in Jerusalem by the Knesset Finance Committee.
The protesters disrupted the meeting while singing, “Release them now, now, now!” A woman exhibited photos of three family members who were among the 253 hostages seized by Hamas terrorists during the tragic events of Oct. 7 of last year, according to Reuters. (RELATED: Netanyahu Says Strikes Against Hamas Will Continue As Biden Remains Silent On Ceasefire)
“Just one I’d like to get back, just one out of the three,” the woman said, while other protesters screamed, “You will not sit here while they die here!”
relatives of hamas hostages storm into israeli parliament,
demanding more be done to bring them homepic.twitter.com/LmkkOdkLgg— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) January 22, 2024
“Redeeming captives is the most important precept in Judaism, especially in this case, where there is an urgency to preserve life,” said Panel Chairman Moshe Gafni, head of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish party in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, who stood up during the meeting in an attempt to appeal to the protesters. Gafni, however, added that “quitting the coalition would not achieve anything.”
Netanyahu refused a deal over the weekend that demanded the complete withdrawal of Israel from Gaza, which would leave the city in the hands of Hamas.
“There is no real proposal by Hamas. It’s not true,” Netanyahu said Monday. “I am saying this as clearly as I can because so many incorrect statements are certainly agonizing for you.”
The prime minister’s far-right politics face opposition due to anti-government turmoils and public discontent with the prolonged war in Gaza, leading to calls for a change in leadership.
“My insistence is what has prevented — over the years — the establishment of a Palestinian state that would have constituted an existential danger to Israel,” Netanyahu concluded, according to the New York Post. “As long as I’m prime minister, I will continue to strongly insist on this.”