An Israeli Arab man confronted the Palestinian envoy to the UN on Monday over his kidnapped brother and nephew, saying they are “hungry, in pain and naked” — and was told to think about the suffering in Gaza instead.
Ali al-Ziadna, a Bedouin citizen of Israel who saw four relatives kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, demanded answers from Palestinian Authority Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour regarding his brother Youssef and nephew Hamza, who remain captive in Gaza.
“I’m a Muslim just like you. We’re both fasting for Ramadan,” al-Ziadna told Mansour in the tense meeting, which was caught on video now being shared across social media. “Why did they kidnap my brethren? What was their sin?”
Al-Ziadna told the PA official that unlike his niece and other nephew, who were released in the first round of hostage exchanges in November, Youseff and Hamza have been held by Hamas for more than five months.
“They returned the Thai workers without a deal, and the Muslims who are like me and you are left in the tunnels hungry, in pain, and naked,” he told Mansour, referencing the Thai nationals who were freed in November. “May Allah protect them.”
But Monsour did not provide any words of comfort to his upset fellow Muslim, instead telling him that he must think about the casualties in Gaza during the war.
“Remember the suffering of your Muslim brethren, 30,000 people,” Monsour said, according to a translation from the Israeli outlet Haaretz.
Al-Ziadna pointed out that his family was kidnapped before all the destruction brought upon by Israel’s retaliatory war in Gaza.
Monsour then dismissed him and told the Israeli Arab not to let himself become a pawn of the Jewish state.
“Don’t let them use you,” Monsour told Al-Ziadna. “Don’t let those that kill Palestinians exploit you.”
The outspoken Al-Ziadna has previously faced these types of accusations before as a member of the Bedouin, who are criticized as traitors to Arabs for their Israeli citizenship and agreement to serve in the Israel Defense Forces.
Al-Ziadna’s brother, Youssef, was kidnapped along with his three kids, Hamza, 22, Bilal, 18, and Aisha, 17, while working in Kibbutz Holit on Oct. 7, the Times of Israel reported.
After his release, Bilal told Channel 13 that he tried to explain to the invading terrorists that they were Arabs, but the Hamas gunmen kidnapped them anyway.
The Al-Ziadna clan, which is prominent among the Bedouin community, fear for their Youssef’s health, as he suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure.