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Red Cross: We’re at the mercy of Hamas
21 December 2023 • 9 Tevet 5784 • Issue No.1346 •
@JewishNewsUK
Embattled aid agency responds to scathing criticism after it’s ridiculed as a mere ‘Uber service’ for hostages The International Red Cross (ICRC) has insisted it can’t “force its way in” to visit Israeli hostages, as it responded to bitter criticism of its response to the crisis by saying it was not in the business of publicly criticising one side of any conflict, writes Jenni Frazer. But, in a telling and wide-ranging interview with Jewish News, Matthew Morris, ICRC’s spokesperson for the UK and Ireland, promised his organisation would “never give
Red Cross worker with a Hamas terrorist
up” attempts to gain access to the 135 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. Echoing ICRC president, Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, who met Benjamin Netanyahu last week on her first visit to Israel since the outbreak of the war, Morris said he believed that much of the criticism arose from a misunderstanding of how the ICRC operated. He said the organisation, with more than 20,000 staff, worked in 100 conflict zones across the world “in some of the most dangerous places on earth. Conflict, by default, means that there is no trust, and that there are information warfare campaigns”. The ICRC condemned the taking of hostages as soon as it had happened, Morris said. “The hostages remain a top priority for the ICRC. Since day one we have made it clear that the taking of hostages is prohibited under international humanitarian law. We have consistently called for all hostages to be released and have expressed this view directly with Hamas, including in face-toface meetings, and in public statements. “All those held must be treated humanely and with dignity and must be able to Continued on page 3
Protesters have been gathering every day at the ICRC offices in central London
POLL: NETANYAHU FACES LANDSLIDE ELECTION LOSS National Unity party leader Benny Gantz would triple his party’s seats if elections were held tomorrow, while Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud party would lose almost half its seats, according to a new poll, writes Jotam Confino in Israel. The survey, conducted by Channel 12, shows that Gantz’s party would increase from 12 to 37 seats
and Likud would drop from 32 to just 18 seats. Opposition leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid Party also loses support, getting just 15 seats compared to the 24 it currently has. The right-wing nationalist party, Yisrael Beytenu, would get nine, increasing its position by three seats. United Torah Judaism and Shas wouldn’t change their positions, both getting the same 11 seats they
currently have, while the Jewish Power Party led by Itamar Ben-Gvir would get eight seats. The other far-right party, Religious Zionism, led by Betzalel Smotrich, would fail to get enough votes to cross the electoral threshold, as would both Labour and the ArabIsraeli party, Balad. The other two Arab-Israeli parties, Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am would
both get five seats each. When asked if Israelis would prefer Netanyahu or Gantz as prime minister, Gantz won by a landslide, with 45 percent choosing him and just 27 percent wanting Netanyahu to continue his leadership. Meanwhile, according to the poll, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, would receive 11 seats if he launched a new party,
Netanyahu with troops on Gaza border