Netanyahu Divides Families of Hamas Captives to Weaken Pressure

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with families of Israeli captives held by Hamas (dpa)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with families of Israeli captives held by Hamas (dpa)
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Netanyahu Divides Families of Hamas Captives to Weaken Pressure

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with families of Israeli captives held by Hamas (dpa)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with families of Israeli captives held by Hamas (dpa)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has successfully divided the protest movement organized by the families of Israeli captives held by Hamas to alleviate their pressure.
Through a network of assistants, supporters, and campaign financiers, Netanyahu established a new movement named Tikva, advocating for the continuation of military operations in the Gaza Strip until the liberation of the Israeli captives and avoiding negotiations with Hamas.
The new movement was announced on Sunday as a strategy to alleviate the pressure from the large-scale demonstrations and firm demands of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
The Forum called for an immediate end to the war and negotiations for a prisoner exchange with Hamas.
They threatened a hunger strike and planned to appeal to US President Joe Biden to represent them in negotiations.
Netanyahu is reportedly disturbed by these demonstrations, which portray him as indifferent to the lives of citizens and captive soldiers.
Although he did not attack the protestors publicly, Netanyahu has been sharply critical in private circles.
Netanyahu created divisions among these families since the war began, but his supporters remained a small, ineffective minority.
Well-funded professional entities have formed a significant and active movement, organizing meetings and campaigns in Israel and abroad to counter the Forum.
They promote the idea that freeing the captives should only be achieved through military pressure on Hamas and accuse those advocating for negotiations of aiding the enemy.
The founding document considers partial deals with Hamas as discriminatory against soldiers killed in action, labeling it a grave injustice to the fighters.
Zvika Mor, a father of a captive and a member of the Likud party, argued in a radio interview that the Hostages and Missing Families Forum spreads a defeatist attitude among the people and soldiers.
He emphasized that the majority of Israelis reject negotiations with Hamas and support the army's plan to liberate captives forcefully.
Eliyahu Libman, council chairman of Kiryat Arba in the West Bank, asserted that Israel needs to demonstrate it was solid and united, rejecting negotiations with Hamas.
Libman's son, Elyakim, is among the captives of Hamas.
Meanwhile, the Forum asserted that this new movement represents a politically-motivated minority with few hostages.
They said they would sacrifice their children for the Prime Minister's failing policies.
They believe the majority of families and Israelis want the government to prioritize the captives' issue and ceasefire until all are freed.
According to the economic newspaper Calcalist, the new movement was initiated by Berale Crombie, a businessman who funds Netanyahu's campaigns, channeling money through the Minister of Heritage, Amihai Eliyahu, via an association led by his brother.
Crombie, Netanyahu's prominent fundraiser, spearheaded the initiative aided by Shmuel Medad, chairman of the right-wing Honenu.
Medad, known for his aggressive stance at a recent meeting with Netanyahu and captive families, declared his readiness to sacrifice his daughter for Israel's victory over Hamas, although it was later revealed he had no daughter in captivity.



Iran Executed 975 People in 'Horrifying' 2024 Escalation, Rights Groups Say

Executions in Iran have surged in recent years - AFP
Executions in Iran have surged in recent years - AFP
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Iran Executed 975 People in 'Horrifying' 2024 Escalation, Rights Groups Say

Executions in Iran have surged in recent years - AFP
Executions in Iran have surged in recent years - AFP

Iran executed at least 975 people last year in a "horrifying escalation" of its use of capital punishment, two human rights groups said on Thursday.

Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and French group Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) said the figure was the highest since IHR began recording executions in Iran in 2008.

The figure "reveals a horrifying escalation in the use of the death penalty by the Islamic republic in 2024," they said in a joint report, accusing Iran of using the death penalty as a "central tool of political oppression".

"These executions are part of the Iran's war against its own people to maintain its grip on power," IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said, AFP reported.

"Five people were executed on average every single day in the last three months of the year as the threat of war between Iran and Israel escalated."

Last year's figure represented a 17 percent increase on the 834 executions recorded in 2023, the report said.

Of the 975 people executed, four people were hanged in public and 31 were women, also the highest figure for the past 17 years.

 

- Executions over protests -

 

Human rights groups, who say that Iran is the world's most prolific executioner after China, accuse the authorities of using the death penalty to sow fear among the public, particularly after nationwide protests broke out in 2022.

Capital punishment remains a key pillar of the sharia-based judicial system established after the 1979 revolution ousted the Western-backed shah.

Crimes punishable by death include murder, rape and drugs offences but also more vaguely worded charges like "corruption on earth" and "rebellion" which activists say are used against dissidents.

In recent years, executions have been carried out by hanging, mostly in prison yards but occasionally in public, though other methods remain on the statute books.

Two of last year's executions were in connection with the nationwide protests that erupted in September 2022 after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian-Kurdish woman arrested for an alleged breach of Iran's mandatory dress code.

Mohammad Ghobadlu, 23, was executed in January 2024 on charges of killing a police officer with a car during a protest in October 2022. Human rights groups have charged that his trial was deeply flawed, with judges ignoring evidence presented by the defense that he suffered from bipolar disorder.

Gholamreza Rasaei, 34, was executed in secret in August on charges of killing a Revolutionary Guard during a 2022 protest. Activists said his confession had been obtained by torture.

The rights groups said there was evidence Iran might have carried out more executions last year that they were unable to confirm for their report.

They said there were reports of an additional 39 executions in 2024 that they had been unable to corroborate through second sources.

Already this year, Iran has carried out at least 121 executions, according to IHR's count.