Families of Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas have said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the "one obstacle" preventing their return and reaching a peace deal.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum wrote on social media that Israel's strike on Qatar last week shows "every time a deal approaches, Netanyahu sabotages it".
On Tuesday Israel attacked senior Hamas leaders meeting in a house in the Qatari capital Doha. The Palestinian armed group said five of its members and a Qatari security official were killed.
On Sunday US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel for a visit during which he is due to meet Netanyahu as Israel faces international condemnation for the attack.
Netanyahu said on Saturday that eliminating Hamas leaders in Qatar "would rid the main obstacle" to releasing the hostages and ending the war. He also accused Hamas of blocking all ceasefire attempts in order to drag out the war in Gaza. Hamas members had been in Doha to discuss the latest US proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza.
However, families of the hostages described the Israeli PM's response as "the latest excuse for failing to bring home" their loved ones. "The targeted operation in Qatar proved beyond any doubt that there is one obstacle to returning the 48 hostages and ending the war: Prime Minister Netanyahu," they said.
"The time has come to end the excuses designed to buy time so he can cling to power." The group added that Netanyahu's "stalling" had cost "the lives of 42 hostages and threatens the lives of additional hostages who are barely surviving".
FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1dqrg32zd9o
No comments:
Post a Comment