Israel writhes in pain
How can Netanyahu sleep at night?
A comment from Frauke Niemeyer
October 7, 2024, 7:39 p.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
The anniversary of October 7th would be incredibly sad, that was always clear. But the fact that he is almost tearing Israel apart with pain is because Prime Minister Netanyahu does not free the hostages from the clutches of Hamas. The country doesn’t deserve this, least of all the brave survivors of terror.
When Irit Lahav and her daughter from Kibbutz Nir Oz ran into their shelter early in the morning on October 7th, they thought what was happening outside was a normal air alert. Rockets from the Gaza Strip, like once or twice a month, right over. But suddenly a different kind of bang comes along. Shots from automatic weapons. Exploding grenades, anti-tank rifles, in front of the house, to the side of it, everywhere. Voices can be heard, they speak Arabic.
In the next 12 hours there will not be a moment without gunfire and explosions. Irit and her daughter, on the other hand, will act in complete silence. No one out there can hear that there are people here. Irit will use a boat pole and parts of the vacuum cleaner to build a device that will stabilize the lock on the room door. This won’t be easy because she can’t stop shaking all over.
Irit is sure that the door won’t hold. That’s why she will silently pull books from the shelf and stack them in front of the door as a protective wall. She thinks, “then we won’t be fatally hit, just injured.” Pointless, her daughter whispers. “We’re going to die.” The first book Irit gets hold of is a non-fiction book about the Nazi era. She shows it to her daughter and whispers, “I hope Hitler saves us this time.”
Irit Lahav sometimes comes to her kibbutz Nir Oz. The residents are not scheduled to return for another three years.
(Photo: picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Anyone who listens to Irit Lahav tell the story of her survival these days can hardly help but think of lying with her in this pitch-dark, stuffy room. Outside, the marauding terrorists move from house to house. Five times they stand in front of the door to the shelter, directly in front of it, kick it, pound on it, lose interest. The last time was at five in the afternoon.
She felt “betrayed” during the 12 hours in hiding. Abandoned by their country, their army in mortal danger. And Irit Lahav still feels betrayed today. She, who has shown incredible courage and fighting spirit in the face of great hardship, reaches her limits at the thought of 101 hostages still in Hamas captivity. “For you, these are names and pictures,” Irit tells her listeners. “For me, these are some of my best friends. Parents of my friends. Children of my friends. I know what their voices sound like.”
Today, Irit is using her courage and fighting spirit to fight for a hostage deal with Hamas. As so many Israelis have been doing for 365 days. Such a large proportion of this population of 10 million that repeatedly takes to the streets to free the hostages in Israel has never been on the streets in Germany. For nothing.
They all feel betrayed by their government, and this feeling does not deceive them. Thirteen years ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did everything he could to make a deal to free a single Israeli soldier from the clutches of Hamas. In return, 1,027 Palestinian prisoners were released. 1027 to 1. Today, with 101 people in the hands of terrorists, Netanyahu appears to be doing a lot to prevent a deal with Hamas. He sees how his country will collapse because of it.
He always has arguments – be they political or military in nature, and they have all been refuted. They still count because for the Israeli government, the lives of the 101 people abducted, allegedly tortured and raped in the tunnels of Gaza obviously don’t count as much as maintaining their own power.
Because Irit Lahav thinks a lot about her kidnapped neighbors, she often lies awake at night. A friend of Irit’s has already buried her own son, killed by Hamas. Your daughter is being held captive in the Gaza Strip. “She can no longer sleep or eat,” is how Irit describes her friend’s condition. And everyone who hears this knows that this mother’s life can be described in one word: unbearable. It is unbelievable that Benjamin Netanyahu seems to be able to sleep at night.