Former hostage and family face police brutality, hit by water cannon at Tel Aviv demonstration

Police use a water cannon to disperse protesters during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the current Israeli government, in Tel Aviv, on February 24, 2024.

Ilana Grichevski, who was freed from Hamas captivity, and Einav Tzangauker, the mother of Ilana’s partner, Matan Tsengauker, who is still in captivity in Gaza, spoke to 103FM on Sunday about their experience at a demonstration that took place in Tel Aviv, in which a water cannon was used to disperse protesters, for the first time since October 7.

Einav said: “I started the symbolic torch march, which was planned with permission from local police. They cordoned off the road and directed me towards Kaplan, where I found myself trapped in a bigger demonstration. There was serious chaos; we were hit by the water cannon head-on, and officers came to take control of the people who were there.”

“I found myself in the middle of the chaos and had to yell at the policemen on horseback not to approach me. It didn’t help; they used unreasonable force against us,” she said.

She continued recounting the experience, saying, “When the water cannon hit us directly, Ilana went into a state of stress that I have never seen her in before. I asked the police to protect me from the aggressive evacuation efforts and from the police horsemen who push the people like a herd being led to a barn. It was terrible.”

“It doesn’t make sense that within the country of which I am a citizen and that my son was abandoned and kidnapped, I have to suffer these kinds of things,” she said.

  Police use a water cannon to disperse protesters during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the current Israeli government, in Tel Aviv, on February 24, 2024 (credit: MIRIAM ALSTER/FLASH90)

  Police use a water cannon to disperse protesters during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the current Israeli government, in Tel Aviv, on February 24, 2024 (credit: MIRIAM ALSTER/FLASH90)

“Also, it’s insane that Ilana went through hell, returned home from Gaza, faces the trauma, and the fact that her partner is still in Gaza, and she still experienced such violence and found no protection. This is unacceptable.”

Hostage families are restless and frustrated over the slow progress towards a deal

She concluded the interview with a declaration of anger, stating: “No matter how much we try to emphasize the dire situation, my son and the other abductees are still in the captivity of Hamas because the government that is in power is not doing everything it can. I hear that they are working on it while Matan and the other hostages are running out of time. I hear the statements of the members of the government, of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, saying that returning Matan and the rest of the hostages is not the most important issue. The government members are the ones who dragged me into politics, and Netanyahu is the one who has Matan’s fate in his hands.”

Since the airing of this interview, there has yet to be a concrete hostage deal from the talks in Paris, although many officials are cautiously optimistic that one will be reached soon.