Prime Minister Netanyahu ‘weaponised hunger’ in Gaza
I would like to start with the absurd idea that Israelis are upset that the three captives have lost weight. It’s actually far more than absurd, far more than cynical. It’s the ultimate hutzpah, as the Israelis like to refer to it.
Netanyahu, who is unhappy, is sought after by the International Criminal Court for weaponising hunger in Gaza. He’s accused of crimes against humanity for instilling famine in Gaza, using hunger as a weapon of war.
That man is complaining the three Israelis held there lost weight when countless Palestinians have died of starvation? Countless children have died of malnutrition? And he’s the one responsible for all of that.
The other thing is the degree of testimony of Palestinians released from Israeli prisons. I doubt it’s going to be heard throughout the Western world, but Israeli prisons have long turned into torture chambers.
The West mainly focuses on the 3 Israeli hostages
Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners freed as Israel condemns frail appearance of captives
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/08/middleeast/hostages-release-fifth-round-israel-hamas-ceasefire-intl-hnk/index.html
The images during Saturday’s hostage handover have drawn condemnation from Israel. Levy – who was released as he was considered a humanitarian case – appeared particularly frail.
The Israeli government described the scenes as “shocking” and said they “would not go unaddressed,” while Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the freed hostages’ appearances were “disturbing.”
Gershon Baskin, a veteran Israeli negotiator turned peace activist, said Saturday the condition of the released hostages would remind many Israelis of Nazi concentration camp survivors and that it should “compel us all to accelerate the release of all hostages.”
Not until the 16th paragraph does CNN mention the Palestinian hostages, still not mentioning 7 had to be hospitalized, CNN rather focusing on / deflecting with the prison sentences, just one paragraph about the state of the Palestinians released
Meanwhile, Israel freed 183 Palestinians Saturday. Some of the released prisoners were brought from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank to Ramallah, where video of their release showed some detainees weak and thin, with one man appearing so frail that he needed to be carried. Recently released Palestinian prisoners have returned from Israeli detention with signs of physical abuse and starvation, and have alleged abuse and torture.
And of course: A spokesperson for the Israel Prison Service (IPS) told CNN Saturday that the IPS “operates according to the provisions of the law” and that “all basic rights required are fully applied by professionally trained prison guards.”
Netanyahu ‘already looking to re-litigate’ the ceasefire agreement
Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli diplomat, told Al Jazeera that the mood in Israel today is mixed as “many people are elated and jubilant, but also fear that the next phase [of the ceasefire agreement] may not happen”.
Pinkas pointed out that many people feel anger and resentment towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “choosing to stay at a fancy hotel suite in Washington, DC today”, instead of welcoming the captives home.
“All he cares about right now is the relative stability of his coalition,” Pinkas said. “He accuses the entire world, including the families of the hostages, of trying to undermine him at a time of war. This is not the Netanyahu of savvy instincts of recent years.”
He also said that Netanyahu is actively hostile about advancing the ceasefire agreement with Hamas and will try to use Donald Trump’s plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza as an excuse to resume the war.
“He’s already looking to re-litigate the agreement, saying the Israeli negotiating team was manipulated by Qatar, Egypt and even the Biden administration,” he said.
“He will insert new stipulations [into the ceasefire deal] and then try and collapse it somehow. If that doesn’t work, he will try and initiate more friction in the West Bank and transfer that over into Gaza.”
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