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Israel’s government came under more intense criticism on Monday as families of hostages kidnapped by Hamas and other Palestinian factions on October 7 accused ministers of abandoning their loved ones.
Relatives of some of the roughly 240 captives held in Gaza screamed at ministers during an emotional parliamentary session in which far-right politicians rebuked families for assuming they “have a monopoly over pain”.
Representatives of the families were imploring the government to abandon proposals to allow the death penalty for those convicted of terrorism, something relatives fear could lead to retaliatory measures against their captured loved ones, as Israeli forces continue their bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
The bitter exchange came as support for Israel’s right-wing government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plummets and public anger mounts over how the October 7 rampage was allowed to happen, as well as a lack of progress on releasing hostages.
Gil Dickmann, whose cousin Carmel Gat was kidnapped, has spent the past six weeks campaigning on behalf of the captives.
Mr Dickmann said at first the Israeli government was not doing nearly enough to bring his cousin and others home.
“When the war started, I think there were five goals to the war,” Mr Dickmann told The National. "None of them was bringing back the hostages and this was terrifying for us.
“Then we started working, we started appearing in the media, we started yelling, we started making this [issue] appear everywhere and the pictures of the hostages. Now, it's one of the two main goals of the war.”
Mr Dickmann said he will reserve judgment on whether the government has done enough if and when the hostages are returned.
On Monday, the master’s student was one of the activists in the Knesset begging politicians not to pursue the death penalty bill.
“The issue is the fact that you are waving your populist views that only causes damage and risk to the kidnapped because they are now in danger of being killed by Hamas even more than they were before,” Mr Dickmann said of the proposal.
Mr Dickmann said he has tried to avoid getting his hopes up by ignoring reports about a potential hostage release, which appeared at the weekend in The Washington Post.
“It breaks the heart to think that you're going to see your relative in just a few days and then to hear that it was fake news,” he said.
Former hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin, who played a pivotal role in the 2011 release of an Israeli solder kidnapped by Hamas, said the prospect of a deal was currently a “dictate of Hamas rather than an Israeli decision”.
“My sense is that if there’s any kind of reasonable Hamas offer on the table, the Israeli government will agree to it because the pressure is mounting on them to bring the hostages home,” he added.
Reasonable Hamas concessions for the Israelis include the much-discussed option of a five-day ceasefire, the exchange of large numbers of Palestinian prisoners and a significant increase in the amount of humanitarian aid Israel allows to enter the Gaza Strip, Mr Baskin believes.
He does not believe a successful deal – which must be passed in the “next few days” if there is to be one at all – would dampen hostilities between Israel and Hamas in the long-term.
“There is a contradiction [for Israel] here that it is negotiating with the people it is going to kill,” he added.
Israel continues to vow it will totally destroy Hamas, which has been in power in Gaza since 2006.
Mr Baskin says Hamas's leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, has ultimate say in whether the group will agree to a deal.
The negotiator added that the release of Palestinian prisoners was “the most important mission remaining in [Sinwar’s] life”.
“That’s a promise that he made on the day he left prison and left his colleagues behind. It’s a statement that he’s made in every important speech since 2011. I think their release is more important to him that his own personal survival.”
The specs
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Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
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Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 390bhp
Torque: 400Nm
Price: Dh340,000 ($92,579
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
More coverage from the Future Forum
THE SPECS
Engine: AMG-enhanced 3.0L inline-6 turbo with EQ Boost and electric auxiliary compressor
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.