Netanyahu Forces Likud Candidate to Apologize for Hamas Remark

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compelled Itzik Bonzel, a Likud party candidate, to apologize to hostage survivor Yochved Lifshitz after Bonzel stated, "I wish there was a way to return you to Hamas." The controversial remark was reported by Kan News on Monday evening. Following the statement, Netanyahu contacted Bonzel, who is ranked 29th on the Likud's electoral list. During their conversation, Bonzel, whose son was killed in the war, argued that Lifshitz had disrespected his fallen soldier son by crediting Miriam Adelson with the rescue of hostages. However, the Prime Minister insisted, "There are things that cannot be said, you must apologize."

Bonzel subsequently issued a qualified apology. "I was pained to see the harsh words that disrespected our soldiers, but in a storm of emotion, I wrote a sentence about Yochved Lifshitz in the context of Hamas that I did not intend, and I wish to apologize for it," he wrote. Sources within Likud told Kan News that Bonzel's statement was "harmful and unnecessary, illustrating the danger of including independent figures." Lifshitz responded to Bonzel's attack, stating, "Netanyahu sent his ranked candidate to incite against me. Netanyahu's lies and slander will not help; the Israeli public understands well that he is responsible for the failure. He abandoned me on October 7th, abandoned my husband Oded and 45 other hostages who were taken alive to die in captivity, and continues to harm our security."

She added, "There is nothing lower and more despicable than Netanyahu's method of inciting division among families of victims of the failure. But I will not be afraid of him or the group of inciters surrounding him." The report also mentioned that Netanyahu had asked Ronen Bar to deny his pre-October 7th warning, to which Bar responded, "An unrestrained incitement campaign, I will sue him."