Pressure, pressure: two more Israeli hostages in videos from Hamas
A few days ago Hamas released “proof of life” videos of two Israeli-Americans held hostage since October 7:
In their latest depraved move, the terrorist group/political entity Hamas released a “proof-of-life” video Saturday of American hostage Keith Siegel, a father of four and grandfather of five. Appearing alongside fellow hostage Omri Miran, the Chapel Hill, N.C., native looked strained and haunted, and his eyes welled up with tears during the nearly three-and-half-minute-long clip. …
The video is not dated, but the 46-year-old Miran says he has been held hostage now for 202 days. Siegel and Miran also say they are aware of the efforts to get all the Hamas captives released …
So these videos do seem recent enough to be considered “proof of life.” It doesn’t surprise me; I’ve said that some hostages are alive, perhaps as many as half – and I think it’s no accident that all the recent hostages shown are also Americans. All the hostages are highly valuable to Hamas and are more valuable alive than dead, as is evidenced from these videos which were met with renewed demonstrations in Israel demanding the hostages be released at just about any cost:
Thousands protested in Tel Aviv on Monday night, calling on the government to make a deal with the Hamas terror group for the release of hostages who have been held in the Gaza Strip since October 7, in a rally that later descended into clashes with police forces, arrests, and claims of violence toward a lawmaker and relatives of a hostage.
Amid heightened preparations for the military to launch an offensive in the Gazan city of Rafah, demonstrators lit a bonfire on Tel Aviv’s Begin Road, near the IDF’s headquarters, and spelled out “Rafah can wait — they [the hostages] cannot” in large Hebrew letters.
Relatives of hostages and captives who were released in the week-long truce in November took part in the protest, calling on the government to stop the war in order to bring the abductees home.
The rally came as Hamas was set to give a response to an Israeli offer that would see a 40-day pause in fighting and the release of potentially thousands of Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for 33 living hostages, and a second phase of a truce consisting of a “period of sustained calm” – Israel’s compromise response to a Hamas demand for permanent ceasefire.
When I read stories like that I experience sharply mixed feelings of sympathy for the families and anger at the extent of what’s being asked. Don’t they see that this only causes more suffering and more hostages being taken in the future? Don’t they see that their current suffering is the result of earlier lopsided hostage deals? Well, they might see, but right now they are suffering unbearably as are their kidnapped loved ones (those who are alive, anyway) and they desperately want that suffering to end.
It’s up to the government to do what’s best, but I think the government may be close to caving from the pressure. For example, I keep reading stories such as this:
Slamming the Netanyahu government for making what he said were dangerous “strategic concessions” in order to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Tuesday appeared to threaten to bolt the coalition if it approves an agreement currently being negotiated in Egypt.
Speaking with the press following a meeting of his far-right Religious Zionism faction in the Knesset, the cabinet member said that while he would have received kudos for coming out in favor of a deal, he believes that such a course of action would endanger Israeli civilians and that he is “ready to pay the political price” to prevent an “existential threat” to the State of Israel — even if it means going to the opposition.
Smotrich skipped a cabinet meeting to attend the faction meeting, amid ongoing political disagreements within the government over the deal and Israel’s pending ground operation in Rafah.
There is little question in my mind that the goal of Hamas in releasing the video was to increase the pressure on the wavering and divided Israeli government on this issue, and to fuel more demonstrations. What will the government do? I don’t know. But I’m very worried.
NOTE: It’s not the case that all the hostages’ families are part of these demonstrations. Some do not want a deal because they realize the extreme dangers and have been standing against conceding to the terrorists. See this.
Caving to the pressure=More Oct. 7’s. More will be taken hostage because of feelings.
I told my Wife many years ago that I were ever taken hostage by such a group, consider me Dead. Harsh I know, but the drawn out of the event is even more harsh on loved ones.
Shirehome, my husband told me the same when he was traveling internationally on business. He forbade me to pay ransom.
In Israel’s case, the habit of making deals for return of hostages has consistently resulted in more hostages taken, and Oct. 7 was an extreme case of this.
There’s one secret weapon Israel hasn’t used. They could agree to anything and then fail to honor the contract, which is what the other side does routinely. If I were in charge of Israel, I would pretend to negotiate in good faith, get back as many hostages as possible, then ignore whatever I signed and start carpet bombing. That’s the only way to win with some people.
israel already offered a ceasefire, and hamas didn’t take it, what is this ground hog day?
Also, there is no loss of honor in violating such an agreement, which is voidable. A contract made under duress. IMO, one loses honor by honoring such a contract.
I’d also like to throw in an additional 2cents regarding the discussion of the minimum wage. A question for economists on both sides of that issue. How much money did Israel save by employing low wage Gazans before Oct. 7? How much money did Israel lose by this, i.e. how much money could Israel have saved by paying more for Jewish workers? And yes, they do exist, the people who live on those kibbutzim work in the fields, even American cowboys volunteered there. Oct. 7 is such a good example of the real cost of cheap labor.
The way the exchanges are usually set up is in a series of steps that make it hard to violate the agreement. The terrorists are not dumb in that sense.
Except we always see where the israelis keep their prisoners not vice versa
There is no accounting for the hostages
Those two hostages were not among the ones requested by israel are they
Miguel cervantes:
One is an older man, so definitely yes for him. I don’t know the cutoff for the definition of “older,” so the other might qualify as well.
ah I see,
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/freed-hostage-whose-husband-is-still-captive-says-i-thought-we-were-forgotten/
his daughter I think was the one who seems not to understand who is at fault
@ feral lunch lady > “Oct. 7 is such a good example of the real cost of cheap labor.”
There is a great fear among many on the internet that we will see a similar event in the US due to the wide-open Biden-non-border, which used to be primarily a result of the greed of the cheap-labor corporations and individuals, although now it’s more because of the Democratic haste to generate a new electorate.
We are importing potential terrorists, beyond any question, which is the equivalent of the USSR boast that they would sell our capitalists the rope to hang themselves.
(Today is our “off day” this week, and I’m almost caught up on the laundry, cleaning, and news.)
The way the exchanges are usually set up is in a series of steps that make it hard to violate the agreement. The terrorists are not dumb in that sense.
Yes, if the agreement involves release of Hamas prisoners, but if it includes a “ceasefire,” that part would be unenforceable. The Israelis could also hunt down and kill the released prisoners. The problem is more political: Israel would of course be condemned worldwide for violating the agreement, notwithstanding the fact that Hamas had violated the ceasefire in place on 10/7.