Israel under growing pressure to trade Palestinian prisoners for Gaza hostages
National security expert and newspaper join families’ calls for trade of about 5,000 prisoners for hostages taken by Hamas
Israel’s government is facing a growing clamour to trade the estimated 229 hostages in Gaza for thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Families of the hostages gained prominent support on Sunday in their effort to persuade Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration to negotiate a swap with
Hamas.
Giora Eiland, a former head of the Israeli National Security Council, and the newspaper Haaretz swelled the chorus of calls to exchange about 5,000 Palestinians – including Hamas militants – for the captives in
Gaza.
Some relatives delivered that message in a blunt meeting with Netanyahu on Saturday in Tel Aviv, where they have set up a
camp opposite the defence ministry.
On Sunday a delegation asked the president, Isaac Herzog, to keep the hostages top of the political agenda.
“We do not feel that the issue is a priority for the state,” said Jackie Levy, three of whose relatives have been abducted. The government had lapsed into petty politics and the president needed to be the “responsible adult”, she added. Relatives planned to release balloons with messages to the captives at a ceremony on Sunday night.
The intensifying assault on Gaza – where the death toll after three weeks of bombing has
passed 8,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry – added urgency to the appeals. In Rome, Pope Francis called for a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
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National security expert and newspaper join families’ calls for trade of about 5,000 prisoners for hostages taken by Hamas
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