Leah Goldin: Egypt 'hazed' Netanyahu, who 'just gets in the way'
Following Egypt's authorization to allow the entry of slain Hamas engineer into Gaza through the Rafah crossing, Lt. Hadar Goldin's parents blast PM Netanyahu, Defense Minister Lieberman; 'They failed, they didn't even contact Sisi. This is another Hamas victory over the Israeli government,' they accuse.
At a press conference, Goldin's parents blasted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government for their mishandling of the affair, while the bodies of Goldin and Sgt. Oron Shaul are still being held by Hamas, as well as living Israeli civilians Avera Mengistu, Hisham Shaaban a-Sayed and Jumaa Ibrahim Abu Ghanima.
Egypt has agreed to permit the entry of the body of Fadi Albatsh, a Palestinian living in Malaysia and assassinated there Saturday, into Gaza for burial. Albatsh was said be heavily involved in Hamas's surging drone program, hinting at a possible motive for his assassination.
"The hazing Egyptian leadership put Netanyahu and Lieberman through stemmed from the fact that the government never demanded (the MIAs and POWs') return," she added.
She continued, "Not permitting Albatsh's body to be buried is immoral and violates the tenets of Islam. Not allowing Oron and Hadar to be buried is also immoral and against Judaism. The Egyptians don't know that, because Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Affairs Minister Netanyahu never contacted (Egyptian President Abdel Fattah) al-Sisi or any other international entity about it."
Moreover, the bereaved soldier's mother said that the Foreign Affairs Ministry headed by Netanyahu "just gets in the way in most cases."
"This past week alone, the European and Canadian parliaments passed resolutions at our behest tying the return of Israeli soldiers and civilians held by Hamas to all other humanitarian issues in the strip," she concluded.
The Goldin family contacted coordinator Blum this week, as well as Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai and the prime minister's Military Secretary Brig.-Gen. Eliezer Toledano, requesting that the government not allow Albatsh's body entry into Gaza.
Simcha Goldin: 'No stone left unturned'
Hadar's father Simcha spoke next, and said, "Since Saturday night, we have left no stone unturned with the Israeli government in the attempt to harness it to a clandestine move to block or delay the arrival of the terrorist for burial in Gaza.""Our experience has led us to the understanding that Hamas's interest in bringing him to a Gaza burial was an opportunity to solve the issue of Israeli soldiers and civilians held by the terror group," he added.
"Three days on," he continued, "it's clear the end result is a resounding failure. In a few hours, the terrorist's body will pass through the Rafah crossing and his funeral will become a psychological victory and a media carnival presenting both the Palestinians and the Western world with the victory over Benjamin Netanyahu. Yet another Hamas victory against the Israeli government."
Goldin's father then blamed the premier and Israeli leadership in general for not doing everything they could to prevent the return of the terrorist's body. "It has become apparent in the clearest possible terms that Oron, Hadar, Mengistu and a-Sayed are not at the top of the prime minister and defense minister's list of priories," he charged.
Echoing his wife's words, Goldin said the matter was a resounding failure by Netanyahu, Lieberman and Yaron Blum, but qualified by saying they "honestly believed Yaron truly wants to get Hadar and Oron back home."
"He simply can't, we realized. It's up to the defense minister and prime minister," Simcha Goldin finished his appeal.
Ilan Mengistu: 'Hope actions are forthcoming'
The family of missing Israeli Avera Mengistu met with Prime Minister Netanyahu on Wednesday. Avera's brother Ilan said following the meeting that they had been notified of developments and that the government hopes it will be able to move forward on returning all of the Israelis.
While he didn't wish to elaborate, Ilan mentioned the family demanded the prime minister to state unequivocally that "an innocent civilian was being held against all laws and that the government demands his unconditional return."
A second demand, Ilan Mengistu said, was to utilize all of the humanitarian organizations to provide assistance in his brother's case.
"Thirdly," he continued, "we wish for the prime minister to mention Avera at any chance. Every person has a name, an identity and a country, and Avera is a Jewish Israeli citizen. By my understanding, Netanyahu accepted this, and we hope actions will soon follow."
"In the meantime," Ilan Mengistu vowed, "we will continue sitting in our protest tent until we know what befell my brother."
Mengistu then tackled the claim that creating a media furor around the issue of POWs and MIAs drove up the price for their release. "We have stressed there is a citizen who is uninvolved in the conflict and that the government should cry out the humanitarian injustice done," he opined.
"I think the government is also beginning to understand the family's cries. The defense establishment has power and a long reach, but unfortunately I have no new information about my brother. We assume he went in alive and is being held by Hamas. There is no information contradicting this assumption, and that gives us hope."
