6 Israeli Hostage Relatives Arrested and Removed From Netanyahu Address

Last updated on August 7th, 2024 at 04:27 pm

The relatives of multiple Israeli hostages were arrested at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and removed from the House galleries as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress.

In total, U.S. Capitol Police arrested and removed six people from the House Galleries on July 24, for unlawful conduct on the Capitol grounds. In an emailed statement, a Capitol Police spokesperson confirmed they arrested Michael Levy, 41; Carmit Palty Katzir, 45; Gil Dickmann, 41; Leat Ruben, 37; Alon Gat, 37; and Shahar Mor, 52, who goes by Zahiro.

Capitol Police provided the basic details of the arrest, stating the six ran afoul of D.C. Code §10-503.16(b)(2), a statute barring entering and remaining in a gallery of a house of Congress in violation of admissions rules that house has adopted at the given time. The activists attributed their arrest to a simpler infraction—challenging Netanyahu.

Five of the six individuals arrested wore yellow shirts that read “SEAL THE DEAL NOW,” pleading for the Israeli prime minister to finalize a deal that would allow the release of hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7. The sixth, Mor—whom Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) invited to the address—has said he was arrested after shouting about the deaths of Israelis on Oct. 7 as Netanyahu entered the room to a standing ovation.

“We got arrested at this speech because we wore those shirts, just saying ‘Seal the deal.’ That was our crime,” Katzir said in a statement shared with FreeBase News following her release.

The arrested individuals also faulted the Israeli leader for placing too little emphasis on a hostage release deal during his visit to the United States this week.

President Joe Biden’s administration has signaled in recent days that Israeli negotiators and intermediaries were making progress in negotiations with Hamas for a deal that would see a winding down of hostilities in the Gaza Strip, in exchange for the release of hostages. But Netanyahu made no mention of that deal during his speech before Congress on Wednesday.

“Benjamin Netanyahu spoke for 54 minutes, and he did not mention once the need to seal the deal and to sign the deal now. That’s what he needs to do, sign the deal and release all the hostages now,” Dickmann said.

Netanyahu has repeatedly signaled he intends to eliminate Hamas outright and free all of the approximately 250 Oct. 7 hostages in the course of the current Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip. Hamas, by contrast, have been reluctant to release hostages until they have assurances that Israeli forces will cease fighting and withdraw from the territory.

While making no mention of the hostage release and ceasefire negotiations, Netanyahu noted Israeli forces had recovered seven hostages during armed raids. Of the hostages that have returned to Israel thus far, Hamas released the majority back in November as part of a temporary ceasefire. Israeli forces have recovered the bodies of other hostages killed in the course of the war, including three killed by Israeli soldiers during operations in northern Gaza in December.

Rather than signal a negotiated deal, Netanyahu suggested Hamas could just surrender and turn over the remaining hostages. Hamas has steadfastly rejected such terms across nine months of fighting.

“The war in Gaza could end tomorrow if Hamas surrenders, disarms, and returns all the hostages,” Netanyahu said. “But if they don’t, Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and its rule in Gaza and bring all our hostages home. That’s what total victory means and we will settle for nothing less.”