Leader of the Hamas terror group tells Egyptian mediator he wants to negotiate a prisoner swap in exchange for Israeli hostages and bodies of two IDF soldiers.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar said Monday that the Gaza terror group is ready to hold immediate, but indirect, negotiations with Israel for a prisoner exchange.

The terror group currently holds two Israeli civilians and the bodies of two IDF soldiers.

Sgt. Oren Shaul and Lt. Hadar Goldin were killed in action during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, and their bodies have since been held by Hamas.

Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed are both Israeli civilians who suffer from mental illness and walked on their own across the border into Gaza. Mengistu entered Gaza in September 2014 and al-Sayed the year after. Both are being held hostage by Hamas, which is denying access to them by the International Red Cross.

On Monday, Sinwar met in Gaza City with the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Abbas Kamel to discuss the recent ceasefire. Sinwar hinted that Hamas seeks a deal that would include the release of more than 1,000 security prisoners, including hundreds of convicted terrorists.

“Sure we can take what we deserve – remember the number 1111 well,” Sinwar said in comments reported by Kan Radio, implying that Hamas wants large numbers of prisoners released, similar to the 2011 prisoner exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Sinwar added that there had been some progress recently on the issue, but that progress was halted, he said, because of the political situation in Israel.

Earlier, Hamas deputy leader Khalil al-Haya said that shortly before the fighting in the Gaza Strip, progress had been made in talks on a prisoner exchange deal, and that if Israel is serious it will be possible to advance the matter quickly.

However, al-Haya added that the issue of prisoners and the rehabilitation process of the Gaza Strip are two separate issues that should not be linked.

On Sunday, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi met in Cairo with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, as Egypt continued to mediate the details of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

“Egypt is an important regional ally, committed to security and stability, and the maintenance and expansion of peace in the region,” Asheknazi said. “We all need to act to prevent strengthening extremist elements that threaten regional stability, and to ensure the return home of the missing persons and prisoners held by Hamas.”

Ashkenazi said that Israel would not allow the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip and Hamas renewing its terrorist capabilities without resolving the issue of returning the hostages.

The Saudi channel al-Arabiya reported that Kamel was expected to present a plan for a prisoner exchange under which Israel would suspend assassination operations against the Hamas leadership, stop the expansion of settlements and suspend the evictions of several Arab families from Jewish houses in Jerusalem.

In return, Israel asked the Egyptians to bring commitments from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad factions terror groups to not fire rockets at Israel.

Easing the blockade on Gaza would be conditioned on the hostage issue.

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Ahead of Rosh Hashana, US Mideast envoy Jason Greenblatt said he would pray for the return of Israeli captives held by Hamas and urged others to do so as well.

By: World Israel News Staff

For the first time in four years, the families of civilians Ethiopian-Israeli Avera Mangistu and Bedouin-Israeli Hisham Alsayed have received new hope after the IDF confirmed they are both believed to be alive and held by Hamas in Gaza.

“This Rosh Hashana I will pray for the Goldin and Shaul families that Hamas will return Hadar and Oron to them. I will pray for the Mengistu and al-Sayed families, that Hamas will return Avera and Hisham to them. Please pray with me,” Greenblatt tweeted on Friday in advance of the holiday.

Unlike Goldin and Shaul, two IDF soldiers killed in battle in Israel’s war with Hamas in 2014 and whose bodies the terror group has refused to return, the disappearance of Alsayed and Mangistu had nothing to do with Operation Protective Edge.

Alsayed and Mangistu both have long histories of severe mental illness and have spent extended periods hospitalized. They both accidentally crossed the border from Israel to Gaza and disappeared.

New campaign: #SpecialNeedsCaptives

In light of the IDF announcement, the families issued a call on Thursday at a press conference in Jerusalem for their release.

They unveiled a new campaign, #SpecialNeedsCaptives, which highlights the fact that these men have a psychological disability, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Mengistu’s family, Ethiopian-Israelis, brother Ilan, who spoke at the event, noted that his brother was being held just two hours from his home.

“We all know that within two hours Avera and Hisham could be back in their homes with their families and to have the medical care that they need and deserve,” said Mengistu’s brother Ilan. “In two hours, the suffering of four years can come to an end.”

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At his mother’s request, the younger brother of Oron Shaul, whose body is still held by Hamas, will not serve in a combat unit.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Four years after his brother was killed in Operation Protective Edge, Ofek Shaul went to the enlistment center with his family to join the IDF on Monday. It is also exactly two years since he lost his father to cancer.

Shaul will serve as a military fitness instructor, honoring his mother Zehava’s request that he not enter a combat unit, which is the prerogative of every family who has lost a son in battle in Israel.

Shaul is doing his army service despite the fact that he and his family believe that the government has not done all in its power to bring back the body of his brother Oron, who was killed during Operation Protective Edge in 2014 when a Hamas fighter hit his APC with an anti-tank missile, killing him and another five soldiers.

Although his mother has spoken to the press many times on the subject, Shaul was quiet until now. He spoke publicly about his brother for the first time last month, when rumors began swirling about an agreement with Hamas in the making in order to exchange “quiet for quiet.” Under the alleged deal, Hamas would cease its arson terror attacks and Israel’s air force would end its retaliatory strikes.

“The cabinet members are afraid to make the right decision,” Shaul stated at the time.

“The government must insist, the cabinet members should demand that my brother, and Hadar Goldin and Abera Mengistu and Isham Assad be included in any agreement [with Hamas], otherwise the agreement will not be signed,” he said, referring to Hadar Goldin, the other soldier whose body is being held by Hamas along with two live civilians.

Acknowledging that he was “in pain” and “angry,” Shaul questioned the lengths to which the government that sent his brother into battle sympathized with the family.

“For four years they simply don’t care about us, they don’t count us,” he accused. “They give us the feeling that we are a burden on the state, and why? Because we sent soldiers, including my brother, to defend the country, the citizens, everyone – including members of the cabinet?”

‘Mixed feelings’

As the family surrounded him in the enlistment center, his mother spoke about her own “mixed feelings” in seeing her third son exchange his civilian clothes for a uniform.

“I could say a lot today,” she noted, as reported in Walla news. “I can only hope that he will be successful, that he will enlist in peace and return in peace. I will wait for him at home…and hope very much that they will keep him safe in the army.”

On Sunday, Shaul, along with his mother and older brother and the parents of Hadar Goldin, met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time in five months. According to a statement issued to the press afterwards, Netanyahu promised that “there would be no arrangement in the Gaza Strip without the return of the boys.”

The statement did not satisfy the families, the Goldins told the press after the meeting, explaining that the prime minister should be making aid to Gaza conditional upon the captives’ return.

“We were disappointed with the meeting with the prime minister,” they stated. “Netanyahu continues to surrender to Hamas.”

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“How reprehensible of Hamas to cause such horrible suffering,” Jason Greenblatt said of Hamas holding Israeli citizens.

By: World Israel News Staff

Jason Greenblatt, President Donald Trump’s special Mideast envoy, met on Thursday in Israel with families whose loved ones are being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

Hamas, which rules Gaza, is believed to be holding the remains of two IDF soldiers, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, killed during the 2014 war.

Shaul was killed in battle together with another six Golani soldiers in Shajaiya in 2014 when their armored personnel carrier was hit by an anti-tank rocket. His body was never recovered and is assumed to be held by Hamas.

Goldin was abducted by Hamas and killed during a battle with Hamas terrorists in Shajaiya. Two other IDF soldiers also died in the incident. The battle ensued hours after a UN-sponsored ceasefire came into effect.

In addition, Hamas is believed to be holding two Israeli civilians who scaled a border fence and entered Gaza. Ethiopian-Israeli Avera Mengistu and Bedouin Hisham al-Sayed, both said to be suffering from mental health issues, crossed into Gaza willingly in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and were captured by Hamas.

Greenblatt met with the Goldin, Shaul, Mengistu, and al-Sayed families.

“These families are suffering unbearable pain as a result of the shameful, despicable acts of Hamas. All Israelis must be returned and I pray for their families,” Greenblatt tweeted after the meeting referring to Goldin and Shaul.

“How reprehensible of Hamas to cause such horrible suffering,” Greenblatt said of Hamas holding Mengistu and al-Sayed. Greenblatt added a “heartfelt plea,” demanding that Hamas “send our brothers home!”

Greenblatt is in Israel to promote the Trump administration’s peace plan.

In September, Hamas refused a request by the International Red Cross to meet with the Israeli captives.

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Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel have reached a deadlock over Israel’s demand for proof that its captured citizens are indeed alive.

The Lebanese paper Al Akhbar reported that Israel had offered to free an unknown number of Arab minors, women and Hamas parliamentarians. In return, Israel wants live video documentation as evidence that Avera Mengistu, Jumaa Ibrahim Ghanima and Hisham Al Sayeed are still alive.

According to the Hezbollah-affiliated Al Akhbar, Hamas rejected Jerusalem’s offer. Gaza’s Islamist rulers reportedly demanded that Israel free 55 Palestinian prisoners as a precondition for releasing the requested video material. These prisoners were in fact released during the Shalit deal and later rearrested by Israel. IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, captured in 2006, was freed in 2011 in exchange for 1027 Palestinian prisoners.

Egypt is coordinating the talks between Israel and Hamas and has reportedly suggested that the deal include the release of the bodies of IDF soldiers Oren Shaul and Hadar Goldin, who were killed during the Gaza war in 2014. Hamas has so far refused to comply.

Mengistu, Al Sayeed and Ghanima had crossed the border between Israel and Gaza as a result of their mental illness, their families say.

The Trump Administration’s Middle East diplomat, Jason Greenblatt, recently met the families of the imprisoned Israeli citizens.

By: Daniel Krygier, World Israel News

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Human Rights Watch condemned Hamas for refusing to release two Israeli citizens, saying their captivity and isolation over several years is “cruel and indefensible.”

The International Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday condemned Hamas for continuing to hold two Israeli citizens captive, saying their detention and isolation for several years already is “cruel and indefensible.”

Avera (Avraham) Mengistu, a Jewish Israeli of Ethiopian descent, and Hisham al-Sayed, a Bedouin Israeli, entered the Gaza Strip on their own in 2014 and have not been heard from since. They are presumed to be held by Hamas, the Islamic terror group that rules Gaza.

A third Israeli citizen, Jumaa Abu Ghanima, appears to have crossed from Israel to Gaza in July 2016, but the circumstances surrounding his disappearance are unclear.

The two Israeli men reportedly suffer from mental health conditions and have histories of wandering far by foot, including across borders without authorization.

In media statements, Hamas authorities have indirectly acknowledged holding the two men, but say they will divulge nothing about them, not even to confirm their detention, until Israel frees a group of imprisoned Hamas terrorists.

Hamas authorities refer to the captive Israelis as soldiers, but HMW says they were not combatants, nor were they affiliated with the Israeli government when they entered Gaza.

“Hamas’s refusal to confirm its apparent prolonged detention of men with mental health conditions and no connection to the hostilities is cruel and indefensible,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW. “No grievance or objective can justify holding people incommunicado and bartering over their fates.”

HRW, in their search for the missing Israelis, conducted numerous interviews with their families and friends as well as with Israeli and Palestinian officials, visited the men’s homes and neighborhoods, and reviewed official medical and military documents.

“Hamas authorities should officially and unconditionally disclose whether the men remain in their custody and release them unless they can provide a credible legal basis for continuing to hold them,” the international human rights body demanded. “Until they are released, Hamas should treat them humanely and allow them to communicate with their families.”

Hamas: ‘There are No Civilians in Israel’

Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar refused to acknowledge the detention of Mengistu and al-Sayed in a September 2016 meeting with HRW, adding, however, that “there are no civilians in Israel” – they all serve in the army, he claimed – and that “Israelis who enter Gaza are spies.”

“In light of indications… Hamas officials should officially and unconditionally disclose whether each of the men is, or was, in its custody and, if no longer in its custody, whether Hamas has information about his present whereabouts,” HRW said in a statement. “Revealing the identity of people in custody is an unconditional obligation under international law that cannot be contingent on the fulfillment of actions being demanded of another party. Their incommunicado detention, particularly given their mental health conditions, could amount to cruel or inhumane punishment or even torture.”

“A government’s refusal to officially acknowledge that a person has been detained or to reveal a person’s whereabouts or fate following detention or arrest, thereby placing the detainee outside the protection of the law, amounts to an enforced disappearance under international law. Enforced disappearance violates many of the rights guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the state of Palestine ratified in 2014, including the requirement to bring detainees promptly before a judge. Enforced disappearances leave detainees exceptionally vulnerable to torture and other abuse,” HRW stressed.

“There is nothing patriotic or heroic in forcibly disappearing them,” Whitson stated.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

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Israel made two parallel offers to facilitate the return of the bodies of two soldiers killed during Israel’s 2014 war with Hamas and two civilians who crossed into Gaza, but Hamas has rejected both.

The Hamas terror organization has recently rejected an Israeli offer that would see the return of Israeli civilians Avra Mangisto and Hisham Al-Sayed and the remains of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for the release of all Hamas terrorists captured by the IDF during Operation Protective Edge.

The prime minister’s coordinator for POWs and MIAs, Colonel (RES.) Lior Lotan, told the Herzliya Conference on Tuesday that Israel made two parallel offers through several channels to facilitate the return of the soldiers’ bodies and the civilians, but Hamas has rejected both.

“These kinds of exchanges are accepted as the norm all over the world, that at the end of a conflict you exchange the bodies and prisoners,” Lotan said. “In an unprecedented move, Hamas rejected the offer.”

Lotan said Hamas demanded the release of terrorist prisoners who were caught in other incidents and ones who did not come from the Gaza Strip. “We can’t accept this, not professionally or practically.”

“Our enemies should not be mistaken. We are not deterred and will pursue the mission until we are successful,” he concluded.

Shaul died in battle together with another six Golani soldiers in Shajaiya in 2014 when their armored personnel carrier was hit by an anti-tank rocket. His body was never recovered and is assumed to be held by Hamas.

Goldin was abducted by Hamas and killed during a battle with Hamas terrorists in Shajaiya. Two other IDF soldiers also died in the incident.

Mengistu, an Ethiopian Jew, and Al-Sayed, an Israeli Bedouin crossed into Gaza on their own before being captured by Hamas.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

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