Ali Ziadna, an Israeli Bedouin Arab, confronted the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour on Monday about his relatives who were kidnapped to Gaza on Oct. 7, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Ziadna was part of an Israeli delegation to the United Nations in Manhattan of family members of hostages in Gaza, according to the outlet. (RELATED: REPORT: Hamas Claims Seven Hostages Were Killed)
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz tweeted out a photo of him and Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan with Ziadna in New York. “Together with Niva Wenkert, Omar’s mother, Ali Alziadna, Yosef’s brother and Hamza’s uncle, and all the members of the families of the abductees whose loved ones are being held captive by Hamas, I landed in New York ahead of today’s debate in the UN Security Council. We will do everything to bring their loved ones home,” Katz tweeted in Hebrew.
ביחד עם ניבה ונקרט, אמא של עומר, עלי אלזיאדנה אח של יוסף ודוד של חמזה, וכל בני משפחות החטופים שיקיריהם מוחזקים בשבי חמאס, נחתתי בניו יורק לקראת הדיון היום במועצת הביטחון של האו”ם.
נעשה הכל כדי להשיב את יקיריהם הביתה. pic.twitter.com/6pNyRX6u7R
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) March 11, 2024
Ziadna took the opportunity while at the United Nations to have a dialogue with Mansour in Arabic asking the ambassador why his family was kidnapped and still in a tunnel in Gaza when they were fellow Muslims. The exchange was captured on video and tweeted out with English subtitles by Ohad, a freelancer and analyst.
Israeli 🇮🇱 Bedouin citizen confronts Palestinian 🇵🇸 ambassador at #UNSC asking why Hamas kidnapped his family, demanding their release.
The ambassador tries in return to gaslight him into thinking he’s being exploited and insensitive to Gazan suffering.
Credit @SuleimanMas1 pic.twitter.com/U7NHMB7DLm— Ohad ✡️ اوهاد ✡️ אהד (@MOhadIsrael) March 12, 2024
Mansour sought to change the subject and mentioned the sufferings of the Gazan people. The ambassador further implied that Ziadna was being manipulated by the Israelis to care about his family rather than the death of people in Gaza. “Before all the destruction [in Gaza] you kidnapped my brethren! Why did you kidnap them?” Ziadna retorted. The conversation ended with Ziadna walking away without an answer.
The Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel by Hamas left 1200 people murdered and over 200 taken captive to the Gaza Strip. Ziadna’s brother, Yosef Hamis, Yosef’s sons Belal and Hamza, and his daughter Aisha were taken hostage by Hamas, according to Reuters. Hamas released eight Israeli hostages Nov. 30, including 17-year-old Aisha al-Ziadna, and her 18-year-old brother Bilal, the New York Post reported. Yosef and Hamza remain in captivity, a list of the names of the hostages produced by Chabad.org stated.