The parents of IDF Staff Sergeant Oron Shaul, who was killed in Gaza in 2014 and whose remains are believed to be held by Hamas, are demanding that an official be appointed to oversee efforts to retrieve of the remains of their son.
The Shaul family says it will take the matter to the High Court of Justice if the position vacated by Lior Lotan in August is not filled in the coming days.
“The Israeli government is disrespecting IDF soldiers who go out and defend Israel,” the family says in a statement according to the Ynet news site. “The fact that no new coordinator has been appointed attests to the government’s negligence toward us and toward Oron, who has not yet returned from the battlefield.”
Lotan, a retired IDF colonel, was appointed by Netanyahu in 2014 to lead the efforts to return Shaul’s body along with that of another slain IDF soldier, Hadar Goldin. He was also tasked with bringing back Avraham Mengistu and Juma Ibrahim Abu Anima, two Israeli men who crossed into Gaza of their own accord and are said held by the terror group.
Lotan stepped down in August citing the “extremely demanding” job.
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Sunday, October 8, 2017
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