The family of Hadar Goldin, the fallen soldier whose body has been held by Hamas since his death in 2014, responded Thursday morning to the recent transfer of the body of Muhammed
al-Kalouti, the terrorist involved in a shooting attack in Jerusalem, to his family.
Criticizing the government’s handling of imprisoned terrorists and the return of terrorists’ bodies, the Goldins called upon the cabinet to institute harsher measures against the terrorists, and to withhold the benefits offered to them until the bodies of Hadar and Oron Shaul – who was also killed in 2014 by Hamas – be returned to Israel.
“The time has come for the Israeli government to internalize the fact that it has the ability to put Hamas under a great deal of pressure to return Oron and Hadar,” the Goldin family said.
The family added that the return of terrorists’ bodies should be conditioned on the return of the bodies of the two fallen IDF soldiers.
“Any decision on the return of a terrorist’s body should only be made after ministers hold a hearing on the status of Oron and Hadar and hear all of the information pertinent to the situation”.
The Goldins also criticized the benefits enjoyed by jailed terrorists, which they said should also be conditioned on the return of the two fallen soldiers.
“How can it be that Hamas terrorists sitting in Israeli prisons get a services package including special food, television privileges, and the opportunity to learn academic degrees while the Israeli people and we the families of Oron and Hadar don’t get a single bit of information on their status?”