Netanyahu’s conflicting figures on Israeli prisoners have sparked renewed controversy.
Coinciding with the second anniversary of Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu interviewed conservative American media activist Ben Shapiro this morning, but once again angered Israelis by providing false statistics on the number of Israeli prisoners in Gaza.
At the beginning of his interview, he described Operation Al-Aqsa Storm as the most difficult and horrific event in the history of the Israeli regime and, acknowledging that Hamas has not yet been defeated, said: “There are steps left to be taken and we will use all our strength to defeat Hamas and free the prisoners.”
However, now that the families of the prisoners are worried and fearful for their lives amid the Israeli military attacks on Gaza and are demanding an agreement with Hamas and an end to the war in the Sharm el-Sheikh talks based on the plan of US President Donald Trump, Netanyahu once again got confused when trying to name the number of Israeli prisoners who have been in Gaza for exactly two years and ultimately failed to mention the correct number. This issue, which criticized the Israeli Prime Minister, was described as the most shocking event of the day.
He said: “By releasing 40 prisoners, in fact 46 of them, 20 of whom were alive, Israel has proven its strength and commitment to their release.”
Ma’ariv reported that Netanyahu made two mistakes during the interview, stating the incorrect number of prisoners, when the correct number is 48.
Two weeks ago, Trump also made contradictory claims about the number of prisoners killed, contrary to the figures provided by the Israeli authorities, and angered the families of the prisoners, who immediately called for mass demonstrations against the Israeli Prime Minister in occupied Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
He said: 32 dead, maybe more, maybe 38! And then he stated: Nearly 40 prisoners have been killed in Gaza. He also repeated his statements about the living Israeli prisoners, claiming that there are fewer than 20 living prisoners in Gaza.
Maariou wrote: As it is known, there are 48 prisoners in the Gaza Strip, and according to Israeli estimates, 20 are alive. But if Trump’s assessment is correct, this means that only ten prisoners are alive.