According to state hostage negotiator Lior Lotan, Hamas has recently rejected Israeli exchange offers aimed at getting Hamas to release the bodies of Hadar Goldin HY”D and Oren Shaul HY”D, both killed in Gaza fighting during Operation Protective Edge. Their bodies were snatched by Hamas via the extensive terrorist tunnel network in Gaza.
Speaking at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya on Tuesday, 10 Elul, Lotan explained that Israel contacted Hamas indirectly via various channels, on a number of occasions, presenting an offer to return all the prisoners and the bodies but the request was denied. The Israelis are also seeking the return of Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, mentally unstable Israeli civilians who entered Gaza on their own and believed to still be alive in the Hamas-run area.
Lotan concluded his address with a message to Hamas, that Israel remains undeterred and will continue efforts until the mission is accomplished.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
I would take this to a political place.
1. Have a petition by Senators and Congress members delivered to Obama y”sh insisting that all aid, direct or otherwise, that goes to Gaza be contingent on the return of the bodies. I believe it won’t help, since Obama and many of his henchmen are staunch supporters of anti-Israel terror. But it will provide exposure that will challenge the idiots who still believe that Obama is not a traitor to America, its allies, and its values.
2. Provide Hamas an ultimatum. If the bodies are not returned in 24 hours, parts of Gaza (not to be announced) will be leveled – back to the stone age. Who cares what the UN and similar anti-Israel organizations say. They are supporting everything related to terror anyway.