Brother of kidnapped soldier pushes for pressure on Hamas
Tzur Goldin gives an interview with Ynet in which he discusses the government's lack of action in securing the release of his brother's body and the other Israelis held by Hamas; advocates a more aggressive, proactive approach to pressuring Hamas.
"After three years in which Hadar and Oron were so flagrantly abandoned and no step has been made to release them, we hear many surprising statements from the prime minister and minister of defense. We think it is time to take this a step further and create a situation where the attitude changes and the actions change accordingly."
At the end of the week it was reported that Israel and Hamas were close to completing an "information deal" regarding the bodies and civilians still alive and being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip as part of a two-stage prisoner exchange deal.
An Arab journalist close to Hamas reported on the developments in the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar. According to the same sources in Hamas, the first part of the deal will be similar to the deal carried out by Israel and Hamas in 2009, when Israel received a videotape showing Gilad Shalit speaking. Israel then released 25 convicted female Palestinian terrorist held by Israel.
"We hear reports of contacts from Hamas, not from our security forces," said Goldin. "This is also not the first, second or third time that we hear about Hamas' attempts to use psychological warfare against the families. This is actually good timing. The reality is that the only ones who define the demands are Hamas, not the State of Israel.
"We say exactly the opposite, we have to press Hamas. The State of Israel has all the cards in its hands to pressure Hamas—economically, politically and by using the international community that supports it. There is no reason for fighters to be abandoned."
In response to whether or not the Goldin family was in contact with security officials, Goldin answered, "We are in a certain relationship with security forces, just as every family in this situation should be, and we get updates. The feeling of loneliness is from the prime minister and minister of defense.
"We have a defense minister who said that within 48 hours of assuming his role, he would return the kidnapped soldiers. Then, we have a prime minister who always finds excuses even though he is supportive, even though he is a bereaved brother and even though he is duty-bound—that is the sense of loneliness we are talking about."
