Benjamin Netanyahu called ‘traitor’ on fourth night of Israel protests

The family of an Israeli hostage held by Hamas in Gaza on Tuesday denounced the country’s leader as a “traitor” as anger over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war escalated for a fourth night of massive protests. intensified.

Thousands of people gathered in front of the country’s parliament, where family members of the hostages and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak blamed Netanyahu for the “disaster” on October 7 and called for elections.

Einav Zangauker declared: “You are a pharaoh, a man who massacres his firstborn sons – during your reign, 240 people were kidnapped – and it is your fault.” His His son, Matan, is one of 134 people still held by Islamist militants in Gaza.

“On October 7, you failed in every aspect,” she declared, and now “you became an obstacle to the hostage deal.”

Families of the hostages are angry with Netanyahu, who they say has not really pushed for their release.

They are allied with anti-government protesters who marched for nine months last year to block his controversial judicial reforms that they say threaten democracy.

At a rally in front of parliament on Tuesday, some families accused Israel’s longest-serving leader of trying to use the war to extend his power.

Merav Svirski, who lost her parents in a Hamas attack and whose brother was later murdered in Gaza, said Netanyahu was in no hurry to release the hostages.

Confrontation outside Prime Minister’s home

“The basic duty of the state is to ensure the return of abductees. I was too naive to realize that our prime minister was not interested in bringing them back for political reasons,” she said.

Former Prime Minister Barak said that if Netanyahu launches a ground offensive against Rafah, “the hostages will return with coffins. Those who abandoned them on October 7 are now sacrificing them on the altar of absolute victory.”

He called for early elections and said those responsible for this disaster should be “removed from the wheel”.

Zangok said Netanyahu had tried to discredit the hostages’ families because they protested while the country was at war.

“You call us traitors when you are traitors to your people, the nation of Israel.”

About 3,000 protesters later marched to Netanyahu’s home, chanting slogans calling for his resignation, and police said some “rioters” tried to tear down barriers outside. Mounted police rushed into the crowd to prevent them from breaking through.

On October 7, Hamas militants took approximately 250 hostages, 33 of whom were presumed dead.

Israel has been traumatized by Hamas’s unprecedented attacks, which killed about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

According to the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, its retaliatory actions have killed at least 32,916 people, mostly women and children.