Fallen soldier’s relatives step up bid to reclaim body from Hamas
Oron Shaul’s family to erect new protest tent opposite PM’s residence; ‘No new info in two years,’ says sergeant’s brother
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
The family of a fallen soldier whose body is being held by Hamas is expected to increase its presence outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official Jerusalem residence in a bid to ratchet up its campaign for the return of his remains.
According to Channel 10 television, the family of 22-year-old Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul will set up another protest tent, less than two weeks after his father, Herzl, succumbed to cancer. Oron Shaul fell in Gaza in July 2014, in the conflict with Hamas known in Israel as Operation Protective Edge.
Aviram Shaul, Oron’s brother, told Channel 10 that his father had begged him to continue the family’s efforts to secure the remains.
On Sunday, the family released Herzl Shaul’s final letter to his son, showing he had never given up hope that Oron would return.
“The public doesn’t really know what happened to Oron,” Aviram said. “For over two years, we’ve lived with the uncertainty and we want to get to the truth already.”
“For two years, we’ve heard the same thing,” he added. “I hope that soon, there’ll be something beyond what we already know.”
“We know that soldiers are likely to be injured or to die in war, but they have to be brought home. Because parents and siblings are waiting, it’s not so straightforward.”
At Herzl Shaul’s funeral, both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman vowed to do everything in their power to return the bodies of both Staff Sgt. Shaul and Lt. Hadar Goldin, whose remains are also being held by Hamas.
The family’s first protest tent was erected in June in a failed attempt to ensure that the government made the return of the bodies a condition for its rapprochement deal with Turkey.
