Avishai David, the father of the hostage Evyatar David, who was featured in a psychological terrorism video Hamas published several weeks ago in an emaciated state, spoke with Army Radio on Sunday about his son’s difficult situation and the leftist protests throughout the country, which are ostensibly being held in demand for the release of the hostages.

“It’s hard for us after we saw him in such a difficult condition,” he said. “It’s hard for us; it’s hard for him. His suffering makes it hard for us.”

David slammed the behavior of the left-wing Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which organized the protest: “This is not the behavior that some of the families want. The hidden goal is first of all to overthrow the government and its leader. There are wonderful people in the Forum, but what is behind it is—the government should go home.”

“It is a politically motivated protest that has hitched a ride on the families of the hostages. I say this with sorrow; it’s very difficult for me. There are things that the Forum has done that are wonderful, but every so often the fire rises against the government and against Netanyahu. There is a negative force that does not let go, that will not miss an opportunity to attack the government and overthrow Netanyahu.”

David is especially furious that photos of his son from the Hamas propaganda video were used to promote the strike. “We saw the picture on flyers to promote the strike—such an inappropriate strike that isn’t helping anyone. It horrified us that they used the picture of my son, in his condition, for political propaganda. It’s infuriating—the cynicism and hypocrisy are staggering.”

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke on Sunday about the protest and did not mince words about whom the protesters are helping. “Those who are calling today for an end to the war without defeating Hamas not only harden Hamas’s position and make the release of our hostages more difficult, but they also ensure that the horrors of October 7 will repeat themselves again and again and that our sons and daughters will have to fight again and again in an endless war,” he warned.

“In order to advance the release of our hostages and ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel, we must complete the task and defeat Hamas. This is exactly the cabinet decision that was made last week. We are determined to implement it.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)