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Israel announces ban on medical aid to Hamas family members

Pushed by a lawsuit filed in the Supreme Court by the family of Hadar Goldin, Israel announced a ban on all Hamas members and families from receiving medical aid in Israel.

By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The Israeli government announced Monday that no members of Hamas nor their families will be allowed to enter the country, not even for humanitarian reasons, Arutz-7 reported.

Until now, only a few of the terrorist organizations’ top leaders have been banned, even though the security cabinet had decided several months ago to deny entry to all senior members and their families as well as to restrict visitation rights of Hamas terrorists jailed in Israel.

The impetus for the original decision was to pressure Hamas into releasing the bodies of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were killed during Operation Protective Edge in 2014. The terror leaders of the Gaza Strip have consistently refused to release any information regarding Goldin and Shaul, even denying information to the International Committee of the Red Cross. They have openly stated that they would return the bodies only in exchange for a large number of released prisoners.

In November, the Goldin family filed a lawsuit with Israel’s Supreme Court against the state, claiming that the government was dragging its feet in fully implementing its own cabinet decision.

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“The time has come to change the reality and pressure Hamas until they send our sons home,” they said at the time. “We must make Hamas understand that holding Israeli soldiers hostage is not an asset, but a burden. The pressure must make it clear that Israel will extract a high price for every day that they hold our soldiers hostage.”

The State’s response to the Goldin’s petition was that it could only fully implement the decision now, as it finally has the ability to determine the identity of all senior Hamas officials and their family members.