Bereaved mother says Netanyahu yelled at her two years ago, called her a ‘liar’

The mother of a fallen IDF soldier whose remains are believed to be held by Hamas on Sunday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of losing his temper some two years ago, yelling at her and her husband and calling them “liars.”

Netanyahu’s office firmly denied the claim, saying he has never shouted at any bereaved families or hurled accusations at them.

With reports mounting of an imminent ceasefire agreement with Hamas, families of Israeli civilians and slain IDF servicemen believed to be held in the Gaza Strip held a press conference accusing the government of failing to include the return of their loved ones as a condition of the deal.

Zehava Shaul, the mother of soldier Oron Shaul, who was killed in the 2014 Gaza war, said at the conference: “This Thursday we will mark two years since the death of Herzl, my husband, Oron’s father. As everyone knows, Herzl died after losing two battles: the first — returning Oron; the second — battling the cancer that spread in his body.”

Noting her husband’s “uncertainty about our son’s fate and severe breakdown of trust with the Israeli government,” Shaul claimed that “two months before his death, we met Prime Minister Netanyahu and he shouted and hurled accusations at us. He called us liars because we argued that he had promised not to sign any reconciliation with Turkey before the boys return.”

Israel reached the agreement with Turkey in 2016, six years after ties soured over the death of nine Turkish activists in a clash with IDF commandos aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla.

“We all know who lied,” Shaul added. “Herzl left that meeting enraged and hurting, physically and emotionally.”

The Prime Minister’s Office was quick to deny the claim, issuing a statement saying, “Prime Minister Netanyahu has never shouted at bereaved families or hurled accusations at them, and the same applies to the Shaul family. The prime minister will continue to make every effort until the boys are returned back home.”

The Shaul family doubled down on its version of the events.

“We aren’t lying,” it said in a statement. “Netanyahu was livid and pounded on the table. (He said:) You don’t speak like that to a prime minister.”

Last year, Netanyahu’s office issued a stinging rebuke of two Likud Knesset members after they got into ugly arguments with the families of fallen soldiers at a Knesset committee meeting.

The Hamas leadership on Friday reportedly agreed to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire deal with Israel on the condition that restrictions on the Gaza Strip’s border crossings be eased. The terror group is waiting for an Israeli response after the cabinet meets Sunday, Hadashot TV reported.

The report said that a “very senior” Israeli official had traveled to Qatar for talks on how to implement the long-term ceasefire deal.

The cabinet was scheduled to meet later Sunday for discussions on the truce agreement. However, the father of Hadar Goldin, the other of two IDF soldiers killed in action in 2014 whose remains are believed to be in Hamas’s hands, called the meeting a “staged show,” alleging a decision had already been made to move forward with the proposal.

“Someone has decided to waste the time of the cabinet members to discuss a train that has left the station,” Simcha Goldin said. “Israel has signed the surrender deal in partnership with the UN, Egypt and Jordan. The agreement already began three days ago, and it doesn’t include the soldiers and civilians [two Israelis held in Gaza].

“Netanyahu has surrendered to the balloon, kite and sniper terrorism. The soldiers have again been abandoned by the prime minister,” he added. “Netanyahu has become a senior partner in the surrender deal.”

Leah Goldin, Hadar’s mother, called on Netanyahu to learn from US President Donald Trump, noting that the latter had “returned the American captives from North Korea before the talks.”

Trump held a landmark summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June. Earlier his administration facilitated the return of captive Otto Warmbier, who died days after his release after suffering serious brain damage in his year of captivity.

Leah Goldin also accused members of Netanyahu’s cabinet of criticizing her family in briefings to officials.

“There are ministers who brief against the Goldin family and claim we are leading Israel to war,” she said. “Shame on you. How much lower can you get? A government that sends soldiers to battle and doesn’t return them shatters society.”

The families of Goldin, Shaul and civilians Avera Mengistu and Jumaa Ibrahim Abu Ghanima — who are believed to be held by Hamas after entering Gaza of their own volition — intend to march toward the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem at 4 p.m., when the cabinet meeting begins, demanding to meet Netanyahu.

While reported specifics of the deal were not officially confirmed, an Israeli official told Channel 10 on Friday that Israel would not be willing to accept any long-term agreement with Hamas that did not include the return of the held Israelis. He said the deal stipulated that the negotiations for their return begin immediately.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.