Hamas accuses Egypt of abducting 4 Palestinians a year ago
Photo published on Al Jazeera purports to show 2 of the kidnapped Gazans at a security facility in Cairo; Egypt denies having captured them, saying Israel or ISIS could be behind the kidnapping.
The photo was taken from afar reportedly at a security facility in Cairo. It purports to show two of four Palestinians allegedly captured, one bald-headed and the other bearded, both appearing half naked.
According to the Palestinians, armed men kidnapped the Gazans from the bus they were on after having crossed the Rafah border crossing.
There have been many versions concerning the identity of the four, including that they were Hamas men belonging to the organization's military wing.
Hamas placed the responsibility for the well-being of the four on the Egyptians.
A day after the mysterious abduction, security officials in Cairo claimed ISIS was behind it, while ISIS's branch in the Sinai Peninsula has so far made no mention of them in its many statements.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, family members of the abducted Palestinians claimed they recognized their son in the photo.
"The moment my sister saw the photo, she was in shock. It's him, based on the way he sits," one relative said.
Other family members, including one of the younger children, claimed to have identified one of the abductees in the photo as well.
Hamas official Salah Bardawil, who spoke live from the home of one of the kidnapped men in Gaza, claimed that based on their answers to inquiries on the matter, it is impossible to ascertain whether the Egyptians want anything in return for information about the fate of the four.
"From the moment they were kidnapped, all evidence pointed to the fact there is no way the Egyptian Military had nothing to do with their abduction," he said.
"At first, the Egyptians said it was possible Israel or foreigners kidnapped them. That's not possible. Such statements are an insult to Egypt, and we won't let this matter rest," he added.
Bardawil noted that when Israel kidnapped Palestinian engineer Dirar Abu Seesi from Ukraine to later indict him for aiding Hamas, it still revealed what happened to him.
In recent months, the families of the kidnapped Palestinians held quite a few protests in the Gaza Strip and mounted campaigns on social media calling on Egyptian authorities to help bring to the release of the four.
A security official in Egypt's Interior Ministry rejected Al Jazeera's claims regarding the detainment of "several individuals" at a security facility in Cairo, saying the facility is no longer located in that area of Cairo and has been relocated elsewhere in the Egyptian capital.
The Qatari TV network Al Jazeera, known for its close ties with Hamas and its biased coverage of al-Sisi's regime in Egypt, has had exposés in the past thanks to Gaza terror organization and its military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Despite claims by the channel it received the photo from the kidnapped men's families, Hamas is suspected of being involved in the matter.
