Father of Israeli-American hostage says negotiating with Hamas is “dealing with Satan” but Netanyahu’s idea of total victory is “not realistic”

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Father of ********-********* ******** says negotiating with ****** is “dealing with ******” but Netanyahu’s idea of total victory is “not realistic”

After the ******** military recovered the bodies of six hostages who had been held for almost a year by ****** in Gaza, the father of an ********-********* still in captivity reiterated calls for a conclusion to cease-***** negotiations that have stalled.

Jonathan Dekel-Chen said Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that he believes *******’s government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is navigating the ongoing war and the cease-***** talks with personal political interests in mind, rather than in pursuit of the remaining hostages’ freedom. His comments echoed the views of many Israelis who have criticized Netanyahu and his cabinet as the fighting has drawn on, although Dekel-Chen acknowledged the challenges embedded in negotiations and likened the task of settling terms with ****** to “dealing with ******.” 

“Given that we’re dealing with ******, I mean, that’s sort of the launching point for any discussion, Israelis at large, and myself included, have been extremely critical of the ******** government for not negotiating in good ****** now, for many, many months,” he said. “There is no explanation, a reasonable explanation why our government is refusing to deeply engage in these negotiations and complete them, when our entire senior military establishment and intelligence community has been saying publicly and openly for weeks and months that the time has come to end the fighting in Gaza, get our hostages home, as many alive as possible.”

The ******* Defense Forces said Early Sunday that the bodies of six being held ********, including ********-********* Hersh Goldberg-Polin, were found in Gaza. There are still eight ********* citizens believed to be hostages, including Dekel-Chen’s son, Sagui. Sagui is the father of three daughters, including one born while he has been in captivity.

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Jonathan Dekel-Chen on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Sept. 1, 2024.

CBS News

“The only thing that we know for sure about Sagui is that, as of late November, early December, we know that he was alive, wounded, but alive,” Dekel-Chen said Sunday.

When ****** terrorists invaded southern ******* on Oct. 7, ******** over 1,000, they also kidnapped 250 hostages and took them into the Gaza Strip, where many have been held for the duration of the ******** military siege that ensued. Around 100 of the hostages, mainly women and children, were returned as part of a weeklong cease-***** deal in November that also saw a pause in the bombardment and the release of Palestinians imprisoned by *******.

Few hostages have been freed since then. Before the military announced the latest discovery of bodies, ******* said it believed 101 hostages remained in Gaza and about one-third were *****. The bodies of six other hostages were recovered by ******** troops last month in southern Gaza. Eight have been rescued by ******** forces, with the most recent found on Tuesday.

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Jonathan Dekel-Chen on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Sept. 1, 2024.

CBS News

Previous operations by the ******** military to free hostages being held there have left scores of Palestinians *****. ****** has said some hostages were ******* in ******** airstrikes and in ******* rescue attempts, while the IDF said that their troops mistakenly ******* three Israelis who had escaped captivity several months into the war. In the wake of the discovery of six bodies of those being held ******** by ******, a forum of ******** families called for a mass protest on Sunday — a “complete halt of the country” — to demand a cease-***** and the hostages’ release.

Despite their calls, Netanyahu has continued to forge ahead with the war effort, which he says aims to eliminate ****** entirely.

“I think the vast majority of Israelis now have come to believe, by his actions, not his words, but by his actions, that he’s been driven primarily by a ******* to retain power with a narrow, very ******** messianic coalition in the ******** government,” Dekel-Chen said Sunday about Netanyahu. “And he has made choices to pursue this fantasy of total victory over ******, a ********** organization, and no doubt, but this idea of total victory is a messianic one from his coalition partners, and not realistic. And he’s preferred that, at least to date, over the well being of all the hostages.”

****** has offered to release the hostages in exchange for an end to the war, in which the ******-run ************ Health Ministry has said more than 40,000 Palestinians have been *******, as well as the withdrawal of ******** forces from Gaza and the release of more ************ prisoners, some of whom are known militants.

Netanyahu on Saturday repeated claims that ****** has stalled the cease-***** negotiations, saying “whoever murders hostages doesn’t want a deal” and vowing to hold ****** accountable for ******** the prisoners in “cold blood.” 

******* & ****** At War

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Emily Mae Czachor

Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She covers breaking news, often focusing on ****** and extreme weather. Emily Mae has previously written for outlets including the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.

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#Father #IsraeliAmerican #******** #negotiating #****** #dealing #****** #Netanyahus #idea #total #victory #realistic

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