The Israel Electric Company workers' union announced Thursday morning that they will not repair the power lines to the Gaza Strip that were damaged by Hamas fire until the terror outfit returns to Israel the bodies of fallen soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, as well Israeli Avera Mengistu, who is believed to be held in Hamas captivity since 2014.
In response to the union's announcement, IEC corporate said that "the company is a government company that is subject to the provisions of the law, and believes that electricity is an essential product outside the conflict."
On Saturday, the IEC announced that five of the ten high-voltage lines supplying Gaza with power had been damaged by rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. The company added that the power lines will not be fixed until their workers can access them safely.
The IEC workers' union’s announcement follows the call of Oron Shaul’s brother, Aviram Shaul, not to conclude the operation against Gaza’s terrorist factions until the bodies of his brother and Goldin are retrieved, alongside Mengistu and Hisham Al-Saeed, an Israeli Bedouin who has been held captive in Gaza since April 2015.
"Senior members of both the defense and political establishments have consistently stressed that Israel will do everything in its power to retrieve Oron, Hadar and the other captives held in Gaza. These aspirations seem to dissipate every time though,” said Shaul.
"I hear quite a few people on the news say that the prisoner and missing persons issue should not be a prerequisite for ending this operation, and I ask myself, if not now, then when?" he added.