Ex-spy Jonathan Pollard calls for arrest of Gaza captives' families

Jonathan Pollard, a former US intelligence official who was jailed after passing secrets to Israel, has called for some of the families of those taken captive by Hamas on 7 October to be imprisoned over their criticism of the government.

Speaking in a clip aired on Channel 14, Pollard - who moved to Israel from the US in 2020 after his parole expired - said that the refusal of the families to "keep their mouths shut" had undermined efforts to defeat Hamas, and that they had been exploited by leftists and the "international community".

"When we declared war, the first thing that the government should have done was to declare a state of national emergency and told all of the hostage families, 'You will keep your mouths shut, or we will shut them for you'," he said.

"And if that means imprisoning, to silence certain members of hostages' families, then so be it. We're in a state of war."

He added that he was also opposed to the widespread postering of the captives' faces, saying it was "a poison dart at our ability to wage total war against our enemies".

Pollard was convicted of espionage in 1987 after selling classified information to Israel, and was kept in prison until 2015 despite repeated pleas for clemency from Israeli officials.

He was granted Israeli citizenship in 1995, while in prison.