Ditza Or, the mother of Israeli hostage Avinatan Or, on Tuesday suggested to hand to Hamas the sons of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF chief Herzi Halevi, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and hostage negotiator Nitzan Alon. Or said all of them, are defeatists who do not know how to win and are complicit in the capture of the hostages on October 7.
Or is among families of hostages who oppose a cease-fire deal and support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rejection of a deal if it would entail an end to the war and a withdrawal of troops from Gaza.
On Tuesday Netanyahu met with with parents of hostages and fallen soldiers who support his right-wing coalition and who urged him not to end the war. He told them that despite the optimism being expressed by the mediators to the cease-fire talks and by the U.S., a deal was not certain.
"Regarding what Ditza Or said on our broadcast tonight: The statements made aren’t within the boundaries of discourse we aim to allow, co-host Yair Yair Cherki said in a post on X soon after the broadcast. "We didn't know she would say those things. We were surprised live on air. Given she's the mother of a hostage, we allowed her to finish her sentence before we spoke out against her comments," he said.
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Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief of Staff LTG Herzi Halevi
(Photo: Yair Sagi, EPA, Elad Malka, IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
"Although we can't judge Ditza's pain, in hindsight, it would have been appropriate to stop this conversation earlier. We pray for the swift return of all the hostages."
Or's son was abducted along with his partner Noa Argamani from the Nova music festival on October 7. She was freed in an IDF operation in June and agreed to accompany Netanyahu on his trip to the U.S. to address Congress.