Families of fallen soldiers lament government inaction
Parents of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, whose remains are held by Hamas in Gaza, exhort MKs behind new lobby to ‘do something’
The families of fallen Israeli soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, whose remains are being held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas, visited the Knesset on Wednesday to mark the establishment of an official lobby to push for their return.
At the event, attended by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, the families accused the government of failing to make serious efforts to return Shaul and Goldin.
Zehava Shaul, Oron’s mother, rued the fact that “the state was capable of sending him out to fight, but unfortunately has been incapable of returning him.”
Shaul urged the assembled lawmakers to “get up and do something,” saying she could not sleep at night while her son’s fate remained unclear. She said she had promised her husband Herzl, who died last September of cancer, that she would bring her son home.
“He always believed in the prime minister and the defense minister and said they knew what they were doing. I told him we were being had,” she recalled. “When he was lying at home before his death he told me ‘You’re right, we were had.'”
Simcha Goldin, father of Hadar, said it was “time the Knesset joined the fight” to return the soldiers’ bodies. He too expressed the sentiment that “the claim that the government is doing everything to bring back the boys is an empty statement.”
MKs Amir Peretz (Zionist Union) and Shuli Mualem (Jewish Home party) will head the new bipartisan lobby.
Peretz said: “The fact that Shuli Mualem and I are sitting here together is testament to the fact that we all see this matter as above parties, and a test of the State of Israel’s most important values.” He expressed hope that diplomatic headway could be made with the help of Russia, which through its relations with Hamas-backing Iran could exert pressure on the terror group.
Mualem said the responsibility of soldiers for their nation must be reciprocated. “We too, as citizens of the state, have an obligation to the soldiers,” she said. The MK called on the government to pressure Hamas by threatening the “generous” conditions enjoyed by the group’s prisoners in Israel.
Goldin and Shaul were killed in Gaza during 2014’s Operation Protective Edge. Their remains were captured by Hamas and have been held by the group ever since.
Earlier this month, both Israeli officials and Palestinian sources in Gaza told The Times of Israel that talks between Israel and Hamas on the soldiers’ return — as well as the return of three Israeli citizens held in Gaza — have stalled.
The talks were said to falter because of Hamas’s precondition that Israel must release Palestinians freed in the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner-exchange deal who were since rearrested (as a punitive measure during Operation Brother’s Keeper in 2014) before discussing the release of Israeli citizens and soldiers’ remains.
Hamas officials say that Israel is holding 58 prisoners of the more than 1,027 who were released in the 2011 Shalit deal.
Hamas is also believed to be detaining Avraham Mengistu and Juma Ibrahim Abu Anima, two Israeli men who crossed into Gaza of their own accord, as well as a third, unnamed Israeli civilian whose presence in Gaza is unconfirmed.
Various sources told The Times of Israel that the Israeli government has agreed to release the Hamas prisoners, but only as part of a comprehensive deal, and only if they have not been convicted or charged with planning or attempting any new terror attacks.
Israel is also prepared to return the bodies of Hamas personnel in its possession.
Israel’s position was relayed to Hamas by, among others, Mohammed al-Emadi, Qatar’s envoy to the Gaza Strip. Egyptian intelligence officials and European diplomats have also been involved in the mediation attempts.
Israeli activist Gershon Baskin, who mediated between Israel and Hamas in the past and who helped to broker the Shalit prisoner exchange, has joined the effort. Baskin confirmed his involvement to The Times of Israel, but said that the talks have stalled.
Officials close to the talks said that while the Hamas leaders realize that they cannot expect to receive nearly as many prisoners as they did in the Shalit deal, they still expect a significant number to be freed in exchange for the return of the three civilians who entered Gaza.
At the same time, Israel appears willing to release a small number of Palestinian prisoners, mainly those who are about to complete their sentences or who suffer from severe health problems.
Avi Issacharoff contributed to this report.
