Abu Sisi's wife: He never spoke about Shalit
Wife of Gaza engineer who was allegedly kidnapped by Israel, says he has no ties to Hamas or knowledge about Gilad Shalit's abduction. PM: He disclosed valuable information
"Dirar never spoke with me about Gilad Shalit," Abu Sisi told Ynet in a phone conversation from her Kiev home. "He doesn't have any information on the kidnapping, and everything we know about him comes from the media."
Veronica Abu Sisi said that her husband distanced himself from anything that is related to Hamas and politics. "It is not a subject that ever came up at our home," she said. "I am sure that he has nothing to do with it. Everything we know about the captive soldier is that Hamas abducted him."
The 42-year-old engineer disappeared from a train in Ukraine on February 18, and three weeks later the United Nations Refugee Agency accused Israel of commissioning the abduction with intention to bring him to the Jewish state. Israel confirmed early last week that it was holding Abu Sisi, but the details surrounding the case remain under a gag order.
Veronica Abu Sisi with brother-in-law (Photo: AP)
'He did not support Hamas'
Der Spiegel reported on Tuesday that there is a possibility that Abu Sisi was kidnapped as part of the efforts to collect intelligence about Shalit. Abu-Sisi's attorney, Smadar Ben-Natan, denied these claims in a conversation with Ynet, saying that "he has no information on Gilad Shalit. He was not involved in it in any way."Abu Sisi's remand, which was extended last Thursday for eight days, is to end tomorrow. He appealed the court's decision to extend his detention, but his plea was rejected. His lawyers say that he is poor physical and mental condition.
According to Veronica Abu Sisi, her husband did not support the Hamas authorities in Gaza. "My husband doesn't have and never had any ties to any element of Hamas or its military arm," she said. "He does not know (Hamas military leader) Ahmed Jabari, and never spoke about him."
The engineer's wife stressed that personally, she is opposed to the kidnapping of Shalit. "No element should kidnap anyone, no matter who he is," she said.
She said that she wants to file a complaint with the Ukrainian authorities over her husband's abduction, but for that she needs Israel to issue a confirmation document. "Even though I asked, I didn't receive an official document from Israel confirming that he was taken from Ukraine, which is why I cannot complain about it officially," she said.
She added that Israel is treating her unfairly. "It is a dirty political game," she said.
Veronica Abu Sisi emphasized that her husband is a "technological genius" and that "no one knows that powers station in Gaza like Dirar. He knew everything there, from the level of electricity supply to the turbines."
She said that above all, she is optimistic and is sure that her husband will be released because "he didn't do anything wrong."
Later Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Channel 2 that Abu Sisi "is a Hamas man and is being held in Israel.
"I don’t want to comment on the connection to Shalit; I can only say that he (Abu Sisi) disclosed valuable information," the PM said.
- Follow Ynetnews on Facebook
