Bibi sinks lower as he delays prisoner release

Alameen Templeton

With his reputation besmeared in genocidal gore, you wouldn’t think Benjamin Netanyahu could sink any lower, but he does – and it’s hurting him.
He’s delayed the release of Palestinian prisoners indefinitely because the Palestinians dare celebrate the release of thousands of their captive brothers and sisters, saying the joy broadcast around the world is “degrading” and violates the ceasefire.
Joy amidst genocide clearly means the Palestinians have not “got the message” and billions of dollars and thousands of tons of ammunition have all gone to waste.
The real mosquito
But that truism isn’t the real lame mosquito irking Netanyahu; it’s the joy and what message it’s saying to Israeli voters. It’s telling them Netanyahu’s genocide show is a farce and that he’s leading them nowhere, but to perdition and ruin.
“In light of repeated violations by Hamas – including the ceremonies that demean our hostages and the cynical use of our hostages for propaganda purposes – it has been decided to delay the release of terrorists planned for yesterday until the next release of hostages is guaranteed, and without the degrading ceremonies,” Netanyahu said Sunday.
And the joyful celebrations hurting the Israeli fuhrer aren’t performed by grinning Palestinians; it’s the joy of Israeli captives and the warm relations they obviously shared with their captives.
Israeli captive Omer Shem Tov was seen kissing the foreheads of two al-Qassam Brigades fighters during a release event in the al-Nuseirat refugee camp, Al-Mayadeen reports Monday.
And then there’s the Palestinian generosity. Imagine! All that genocide, the starvation blockade, the nights and days, weeks and months of unending terror and the Palestinians are still giving more than is being asked of them.
Forget the white-toothed grins framed by those Muslim beards, the chattering Kalashnikovs, the children darting about like handover ceremonies are tea-and-buns in the playground, the indecipherable, insulting slogans on banners. It is the generosity on top of the joy that is really killing Netanyahu.
Hamas revealed two prisoners Sunday ahead of schedule. Eviatar David and Guy Gilboa Dilal were also present at the ceremony, despite not being scheduled for release in the first ceasefire stage. Moreover, their status had been undisclosed for months and the knowledge that they are also poised for a homecoming would have poured napalm on public resentment at Netanyahu’s delay tactics.
The shouting whisper
The undeniable generosity says: Hope doesn’t whisper in Gaza, it doesn’t emerge from a seed like tender grass shoots, but like an olive tree cut down by fire whose 1400-year-old roots are springing up profusely everywhere.
Gaza is blooming again and Netanyahu must do his damnedest to stop it because every smile, every expression of human warmth and empathy says the hate peddled by the fuhrer is a lie.
Gilboa-Dilal underlined that after recovering from the shock of seeing other captives lined up for release Sunday while he and David might never return home if Netanyahu scuppers the ceasefire as Hamas has warned.
“Netanyahu stop! You have finished us! You have killed us,” Gilboa-Dilal shouted into the cameras and smartphones hungrily recording the event, leaking all the joy, hope and rebellion Netanyahu detests so much into millions of television screens and even more media site visits.
“Return us to our homes, please! Military pressure will kill us all. You initiated a deal; continue with it,” Gilboa-Dilal yelled.
Both captives urged Israelis to continue their protests against Netanyahu’s delay-and-kill tactics.
No further captives are scheduled for release under the first phase of the ceasefire. Subsequent phases might see releases depending on how they unfold, but are meant to establish a lasting ceasefire and end the genocide.
That last outcome is one Netanyahu is determined to avoid.
Up to 63 Israelis remain in Gaza and at least 24 are believed to be alive, awaiting an uncertain future as Netanyahu resumes his familiar, spoiler tactics.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club accused Netanyahu of “organised terrorism” after he suspended the release of prisoners indefinitely, crucially including that of Nael al-Barghouti, the longest-serving Palestinian inmate.
The club pointed to countless raids by Israeli stormtroopers on released prisoners’ homes that have terrorised their families as part of a Zionazi campaign to brutally stop any release celebrations.