Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is once again at the center of bitter controversy after he made a gaffe in yesterday’s press conference on live television. “It is life,” he said in a fatalistic tone, commenting on the murder last Thursday of lawyer Yuval Doron Kastelman, who intervened in an attack on the outskirts of Jerusalem. When he saw two Hamas terrorists firing into the crowd (killing three people), he intervened with his weapon and killed the attackers. But a reservist who arrived on the scene shot him, believing him to be an attacker, even though Kastelman was on his knees, without his weapon anymore, with his hands raised and his jacket open to indicate he was not wearing an explosive vest, shouting that he was be Israeli.
When asked by a journalist what he thought of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s policy on the widespread distribution of weapons to the population, Netanyahu replied that it had saved lives “in dozens of other cases.” On the Kastelman affair, he then added: “It is life.” Words that provoked fierce attacks from the local media, so much so that the Prime Minister was forced to call the father of the Hero of Jerusalem – as Kastelman was known – to tell him to express his condolences. But even the war cabinet of the emergency government formed last month was divided on the issue. Gady Eisenkot, former chief of staff, noted that the reservist had committed “a very serious violation” since the military is always forbidden to shoot someone who is no longer capable of causing harm. And his party leader Benny Gantz publicly distanced himself from Netanyahu: “The case of the ‘hero Yuval’ is by no means a ‘case of life’, but rather an alarm signal.” In his opinion, it is now important to carry out a detailed investigation – also with a long delay and began with serious gaps – and also to ensure that the rules for opening fire are strictly adhered to. Yesterday it was also surprising that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met the press separately from Netanyahu, an hour before the prime minister. Today, at the Likud parliamentary list meeting, Gallant was absent. “But are we sure he is still part of the Likud?” asked one parliamentarian. Netanyahu responded by assuring that the War Cabinet – which he serves on along with Gallant, Gantz, Eisenkot and Minister Ron Dermer – is “working in unison” and is solely concerned with managing the war in Gaza. “This is not the time,” he added, “to engage in low politics.” Netanyahu continues to face pressure from the families of the hostages, who are deeply concerned about the breach of the ceasefire impacting their fate in Gaza captured relatives might have. Yesterday, thousands of people took part in a demonstration in Tel Aviv demanding the immediate release of all 137 abducted people still in the Gaza Strip. Addressing them indirectly, Netanyahu said during the Likud meeting: “We continue to talk to the kidnappers, only now we are talking to them with fire.”
Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA