There are families of Israeli hostages linked to the extreme right who refuse the ceasefire. This is the reason
by Nadeen Ibrahim e Mike SchwartzCNN
As they inch closer to a possible deal and hostages, a small number of families whose loved ones remain captive in Gaza are saying “no” to a deal.
Many members of the Tikva (Hope) Forum fringe group, including settlers from the occupied West Bank, hold right-wing ideologies. They oppose the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel as part of the agreement, arguing that a partial release of Israeli hostages from Gaza is unacceptable. Instead, they insist that defeating Hamas through strong military action must be the top priority and is the best strategy for recovering the hostages.
The Tikva Forum, which claims it was founded to bring hostages home “from a place of strength, faith, national responsibility and concern for the unity and safety of all Israelis,” distinguishes itself from the Hostage Families Forum – which represents the majority of the hostages’ families and has led protests in favor of a ceasefire and hostage agreement.
Tzvika Mor, co-founder of the Tikva Forum, believes that his son Eitan, who is detained in Gaza, would like him to oppose the deal.
“This agreement that the Prime Minister [Benjamin] What Netanyahu is talking about today is very dangerous for my son and for the majority of the hostages, especially the young people and soldiers who will remain in Gaza for decades,” Mor told CNN on Wednesday, even before the agreement was made official.
“I know perfectly well that Eitan wants me to make sure that the State of Israel will be safe”, he reiterated, adding that, if his son had not been in captivity, he would have been “a soldier in Gaza, Lebanon or Syria”.
In the first phase of the agreement, the release of children, women, patients and the elderly detained in Gaza is expected, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinians from Israeli prisons, some of whom are accused of killing Israelis.
Boaz Miran, who is part of the Tikva Forum, also opposes the agreement. His brother Omri was kidnapped by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nahal Oz in southern Israel, leaving behind his wife, Lishay, and two young daughters. His brother is unlikely to be released in the first phase of the agreement, as it gives priority to women, children and the elderly.
Boaz campaigned against the agreement, along with other families linked to the Tikva Forum. The group’s members often share views similar to those of far-right Israeli politicians who also oppose the deal, such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who threatened to withdraw from Netanyahu’s coalition if the deal was signed, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who stated that the agreement would be a “catastrophe”.
Both ministers are settlers with harsh views on Palestinians.
Monsters are our neighbors
Mor, the forum’s co-founder, resides in the Jewish colony of Kiryat Arba, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank. The son was kidnapped by Palestinian militants from the Nova Festival on October 7. Miran said that at least 15 families are part of the forum, but that many prefer to stay out of the spotlight.
Miran and other members of the Tikva forum reject the Gaza agreement in its current form, stating that the hostages must be returned at once and that Palestinian “terrorists” must not be released. “We believe that all prisoners should be returned in a single agreement, from a position of strength”, he stressed.
“I am against this current agreement because, firstly, it will not bring back all the prisoners. It will be a partial release, the rest will probably be neglected,” Miran added to CNN.
It also considers that the release of Palestinian prisoners would be catastrophic for Israel.
“We can’t have these monsters like our neighbors across the border. Sinwar was released as part of the deal [Gilad] Shalit (when the Israeli soldier was exchanged for more than a thousand prisoners in 2011), and look what he did to us,” he explained to CNN, referring to Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7th attack, who was killed by Israel last year. “We cannot agree to a situation where released prisoners will murder our people in the future.”
Israel has detained at least 10,000 Palestinian prisoners, according to the Detainee Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners Society, including 3,376 people who have been taken prisoner under administrative detention – a controversial procedure that allows Israeli authorities to hold people indefinitely for security reasons without trial or prosecution, sometimes based on evidence that is not made public. Ninety-five children are currently under administrative detention, according to the Commission for Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society.
Miran said that while he celebrates the release of each hostage, the agreement, in its current form, will mean that the joy of some families also symbolizes sadness for others, adding that “this agreement will determine the fate of my brother Omri, who will rot in the tunnels of Hamas for months or even years.”
The Israeli government believes that 98 hostages are still being held in Gaza – most of whom were kidnapped on October 7, 2023, and dozens of whom are believed to be dead.
The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has been ongoing for 15 months, turning Gaza into a desert and displacing at least 90% of Palestinians since October 2023, according to the United Nations. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 46,000 people were killed, most of them women and children.
CNN’s Dana Karni contributed reporting
