The Israeli government’s lack of transparency and lack of accessibility with the hostage families is a national embarrassment, Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of 35-year-old Israeli-American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, told The Post on Friday after a press conference in New York.
Our government doesn’t seem that worried about the hostages or willing to sacrifice to get them home, Dekel-Chen said, noting that a deal will require a painful sacrifice.
Dekel-Chen accused the coalition of elevating voices from the Tikvah group, which he said represents a minority of the families. Dekel-Chen said that almost all of the hostages are not in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s constituency or those of his coalition.
“That’s why there’s raging in the streets. That’s the desperation, that’s the hopelessness, that our government is essentially selling a fantasy to its own constituency in order to stay in power,” Dekel-Chen told The Post. “And it will continue to do so to do whatever it has to fulfil its priority and the Prime Minister’s priority, which is to stay in power.”
According to Dekel-Chen, he thinks the government would respond differently if more of the hostages were from constituencies of the coalition partners.
“Bibi Netanyahu has had the most power since 1996. He’s had all that time to solve the problem of terror from the Gaza Strip. A lot of years,” Dekel-Chen said. “Our people must not be sacrificed now. In 1996, you ran on a promise of eradicating terror, of eradicating Hamas. We’re going to abandon our people, abandon them a second time, because of what?”
There was always time to kill Sinwar and eradicate Hamas, Dekel-Chen said.
This all happened under Netanyahu’s watch
“This all happened on his watch,” he said. “We all agree that Hamas needs to be destroyed, but not at the price of killing these people, our own people, who may still be alive.”
Dekel-Chen said it is a fantasy to think that all of the hostages will be released just with military action.
There is no alternative to the negotiation process, he said.
Dekel-Chen praised President Joe Biden and his administration, saying they’re doing everything they can. He said the administration has a hard job because they have to get everyone to the table, including Israel.
“What we’ve been hearing and seeing over the last couple of days is a demonstration of the Biden administration’s seriousness about resolving this horrible conflict and getting the hostages home, as many as possible, alive,” he said.
Over the past few days, Dekel-Chen said he’s heard and seen the Biden administration’s seriousness about resolving the conflict and getting as many hostages as possible home alive.
“As far as Israelis are concerned, I think the Biden administration itself understands that more leverage may be needed, on all of the parties, in order to bring our loved ones home,” He said. “But all that we’ve seen until now is that the Biden administration is deeply committed to getting it done.”
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