In an interview on the BBC's Sunday Morning News with Laura Kuenssberg, Israeli President Isaac Herzog fiercely criticized the BBC for its continued false equivalence between the treatment of convicted Hamas terrorists and innocent Israeli hostages abducted into Gaza. The President called on the BBC to end this misleading narrative, emphasizing that Israel is a democracy that abides by the rule of law, while Hamas engages in barbaric terrorist acts.
"I absolutely reject that, and I think that this equality that the BBC is always trying to make is outrageous and preposterous, absolutely not true. We are a democracy. We abide by the rule of law. All prisoners in Israel get whatever is necessary as prisoners under the law, under the supervision of the court, even a Supreme Court justice recently visited the prisons. And not only that, some of the prisoners, the Palestinians, didn't want to leave. They didn't want to go back to Gaza. They preferred staying in the Israeli prisons. So of course, there's always this notion by the BBC, which is really outrageous in my mind, and I call upon all of you to stop that attitude and understand that this attack on October 7, was an attack on the entire free world, and what we are doing when we are catching terrorists who carried out these atrocities, we are simply preventing them from taking on further attacks attacks against humanity at large," President Herzog stated.
The President also highlighted the horrific conditions suffered by the hostages still held in Gaza. He described reports of hostages being kept in underground tunnels for months, deprived of adequate food and medical care, and suffering severe physical and emotional trauma. "They were kept in tunnels throughout that period. They had no contact with the outside world. They hardly ate. They became totally emaciated, and they have suffered a huge amount of bruises, pains and wounds, and of course, we haven't discussed the mental situation, but we are all shocked and horrified as we saw them emerging out of those terrible captivity tunnels of the brutal terrorists of Hamas. And we are extremely worried about the fate of all others while there are 76 hostages still there," he urged.
Additionally, President Herzog acknowledged the importance of fresh perspectives on resolving the conflict, referencing U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent remarks about the need for new ideas. "So I would say that President Trump basically came forward and said something which I read as follows: Going back to the same routine of getting to a ceasefire – an arrangement and a Hamas attacks you, and then we go to war, and then terrible things happen – cannot go on. We have to look for new ideas. And I believe that after he met with Prime Minister Netanyahu, now President Trump will meet with President El-Sisi of Egypt, with King Abdullah of Jordan. I'm sure that they will have to express their views on the issue, and of course, they are our partners in peace processes, including the Abraham Accords partners, we’ll hear all of them, and we'll have to find a right way to make sure that what happened will not recur again, meaning that Hamas cannot rule Gaza anymore," he stated.
The President concluded with a call for the immediate return of all hostages and for international partners to support efforts aimed at eradicating terrorism from Gaza and securing a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians alike. "We hope and pray that all the 76 hostages will come up out of Gaza as soon as possible, until the last one of them," he declared.
In an interview on the BBC's Sunday Morning News with Laura Kuenssberg, Israeli President Isaac Herzog fiercely criticized the BBC for its continued false equivalence between the treatment of convicted Hamas terrorists and innocent Israeli hostages abducted into Gaza. The President called on the BBC to end this misleading narrative, emphasizing that Israel is a democracy that abides by the rule of law, while Hamas engages in barbaric terrorist acts.
"I absolutely reject that, and I think that this equality that the BBC is always trying to make is outrageous and preposterous, absolutely not true. We are a democracy. We abide by the rule of law. All prisoners in Israel get whatever is necessary as prisoners under the law, under the supervision of the court, even a Supreme Court justice recently visited the prisons. And not only that, some of the prisoners, the Palestinians, didn't want to leave. They didn't want to go back to Gaza. They preferred staying in the Israeli prisons. So of course, there's always this notion by the BBC, which is really outrageous in my mind, and I call upon all of you to stop that attitude and understand that this attack on October 7, was an attack on the entire free world, and what we are doing when we are catching terrorists who carried out these atrocities, we are simply preventing them from taking on further attacks attacks against humanity at large," President Herzog stated.
The President also highlighted the horrific conditions suffered by the hostages still held in Gaza. He described reports of hostages being kept in underground tunnels for months, deprived of adequate food and medical care, and suffering severe physical and emotional trauma. "They were kept in tunnels throughout that period. They had no contact with the outside world. They hardly ate. They became totally emaciated, and they have suffered a huge amount of bruises, pains and wounds, and of course, we haven't discussed the mental situation, but we are all shocked and horrified as we saw them emerging out of those terrible captivity tunnels of the brutal terrorists of Hamas. And we are extremely worried about the fate of all others while there are 76 hostages still there," he urged.
Additionally, President Herzog acknowledged the importance of fresh perspectives on resolving the conflict, referencing U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent remarks about the need for new ideas. "So I would say that President Trump basically came forward and said something which I read as follows: Going back to the same routine of getting to a ceasefire – an arrangement and a Hamas attacks you, and then we go to war, and then terrible things happen – cannot go on. We have to look for new ideas. And I believe that after he met with Prime Minister Netanyahu, now President Trump will meet with President El-Sisi of Egypt, with King Abdullah of Jordan. I'm sure that they will have to express their views on the issue, and of course, they are our partners in peace processes, including the Abraham Accords partners, we’ll hear all of them, and we'll have to find a right way to make sure that what happened will not recur again, meaning that Hamas cannot rule Gaza anymore," he stated.
The President concluded with a call for the immediate return of all hostages and for international partners to support efforts aimed at eradicating terrorism from Gaza and securing a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians alike. "We hope and pray that all the 76 hostages will come up out of Gaza as soon as possible, until the last one of them," he declared.
