Family of Hamas-held Israeli blast Rivlin for ‘ignoring’ their son
The president presented Trump with pictures of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul but neglected to mention Avera Mengistu
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
The family of an Israeli man presumed held by the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip said that they were “shocked” at President Reuven Rivlin’s “ignoring” of their son’s plight during his conversation Monday with US President Donald Trump.
Avraham Avera Mengistu, a 30-year-old Israeli of Ethiopian descent, has been held in Gaza for over two and a half years. According to his family, he suffers from a mental illness and stumbled across the border into the coastal territory by accident.
During his meeting with Trump, Rivlin presented his US counterpart with photos of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, two slain Israeli soldiers whose remains have been held by the Hamas rulers of Gaza since the war there in 2014. Rivlin requested Trump’s assistance in securing the return of the bodies to Israel.
“We are grief-stricken and astonished at the disregard for the return of our family member, the citizen Avera Mengistu, who apparently was not mentioned in the conversation,” his family said in a statement.
“We expect that during his talks, the president will fulfill the state’s duty to all of its citizens: to protect them, secure them in an equal manner, and yes, to return all citizens and soldiers held by Hamas as prisoners to their homes,” they concluded.
In June 2016, Mengistu’s family asked that the government demand as a condition for signing a reconciliation agreement with Turkey that Ankara obtain a clear sign of life and other information about Avera’s fate.
For their parts, the parents of Hadar Goldin thanked Rivlin for mentioning their sons in the meeting.
President @PresidentRuvi shows @POTUS photos of Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, IDF soldiers whose bodies are being held by Hamas in Gaza pic.twitter.com/alOofQOs8i
— Judah Ari Gross (@JudahAriGross) May 22, 2017
“He (Rivlin) demonstrated leadership and national responsibility when he asked US President Donald Trump to intervene personally in the return of Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin to Israel,” said Hadar’s parents, Leah and Simcha.
They added that “President Trump is leading a new direction and is working on building a relationship between Israel and the countries of the region and Israel. In this framework, the return of Oron and Hadar must be the first [demonstration] of seriousness and credibility.
“The return of Oron and Hadar, held by Hamas in Gaza, is first of all a humanitarian act, and we expect the leaders of the Sunni countries to show compassion and goodwill on this issue,” the Goldins concluded.
Later Monday, during a joint visit to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister’s wife, presented US First Lady Melania Trump with her own pair of photos of the two soldiers. She also shared a letter written by Oron’s mother, Zehava.
According to a press release issued by the Goldin and Shaul families, a new petition of Israeli and American bereaved families is calling on Trump not to accept any demands made by the Palestinian Authority before the two bodies are returned.
A copy of the petition was presented to the US Consulate in Jerusalem on Sunday, with the request that it be delivered to Trump upon his arrival.
Also believed to be held by Hamas is Hisham al-Sayed, an Israeli citizen with schizophrenia who wandered into the Gaza Strip in April 2015.
Hamas has never officially confirmed it is holding Sayed and Mengistu, but videos it has published on social media have included their images.
According to Human Rights Watch, a third Israeli citizen, Jumaa Abu Ghanima, entered Gaza in July 2016, but there is no further information on him and it is unclear if he was arrested or joined a militant group.
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