BBC OS Conversations: Hostages, prisoners and peace
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 25 November 2023
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
After seven weeks of war between Hamas and Israel, there was a deal for a pause in the fighting. On Friday morning the rockets and gunfire fell silent in Gaza. The agreement also included the release of Palestinians in Israeli prisons and Israeli hostages held in Gaza; plus more aid deliveries to the people of Gaza. After so much trauma and anger, host James Reynolds hears from those who say there has to be another way than war. He talks with two members of Parents for Peace - an organisation consisting of both Israeli and Palestinian parents who have lost children throughout decades of conflict. A Palestinian sniper killed Robi Damelin’s 22-year-old son, David, in 2002. An Israeli soldier killed Bassam Aram’s 10-year-old daughter, Abir, with a rubber bullet, outside her school in 2007. Today, Robi and Bassam are united in using their grief positively for peace and to help others who continue to suffer the consequences of war. “Instead of building more graves, they need to try to move on with this pain, to use it as a motivation,” says Bassam. “To build more bridges for peace for the memory of their beloved one.” We also hear how two Israelis are coping under the strain of not seeing their relatives; knowing they are probably being held hostage in Gaza, but are unlikely to be released as part of the current deal. (Photo: Robi Damelin (l) and Bassam Aram)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Global Story is your new daily deep dive into one big news story and it's coming soon Monday to Friday from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:10.0 | Search for the Global Story wherever you get your BBC podcasts to find out more. |
| 0:17.0 | Hello I'm James Reynolds. |
| 0:20.0 | Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:23.5 | After seven weeks of war between Hamas and Israel, |
| 0:27.7 | there was a deal for a pause in fighting, |
| 0:30.3 | the release of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages, |
| 0:33.5 | plus more aid into Gaza. |
| 0:38.5 | We'll discuss Palestinians in Israeli jails, |
| 0:41.5 | the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas, and the Palestinian |
| 0:45.3 | father and the Israeli mother who each lost a child in this long conflict |
| 0:50.1 | tell us how they are working together for peace. |
| 0:54.0 | It's very, very painful for birth sides. |
| 0:57.0 | And the miracle of this whole incident |
| 1:00.0 | is the fact that we are still meeting. |
| 1:02.0 | We had a Zoom for the first time to the general public |
| 1:06.4 | and they came to get hope. |
| 1:10.3 | We'll hear more from the parents who want peace a little later on, but we begin now with the days of careful negotiation. |
| 1:18.0 | With Israel on the one side, Hamas on the other, and Qatar brokeering in the middle. The search was for what Qatar said was a glimmer of hope and that hope would |
| 1:29.0 | appear to have come in an agreement which involves the prospect of a four-day pause in fighting |
| 1:35.9 | and also Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, children and women being released, |
| 1:40.9 | plus a significant increase in aid being allowed into Gaza. But it should be noted |
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