According to reports, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beiteinu) clarified today, in private conversations, that he has no intention of bargaining with Hamas for the return of the bodies of Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin. Shaul and Goldin were both killed during Operation Protective Edge, Israel's push to rid Gaza of terrorism and smugglers tunnels. Hamas has been holding their bodies since, in the hope of trading their bones for the freedom of live terrorists and murderers. "By my estimation, the bodies of the soldiers will not be returned to Israel, I don't see it happening. I was also against the Shalit deal in the past, and I don't intend to cut a deal with Hamas in the future," the Defense Minister said, according to Channel 10 . In 2011, Israel made an agreement with Hamas to exchange captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit for the release of 1,027 terrorists - 280 of whom had been sentenced to life in prison for planning and perpetrating terror attacks against Israelis. Since then, many of the released terrorists have returned to terror activities against Israelis, including the murders of Malachi Rosenfeld and Danny Gonen. In the past, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu promised to do all he could to return the fallen soldiers' bodies to their families. "Protective Edge includes a deep obligation to bring home Lieutenant Hadar Goldin and Sergeant Oron Shaul. The task stands before me. I will not let it go, and we will complete it even if it takes time," stated the Prime Minister. The bereaved Goldin family responded, "The Defense Minister, who is choosing to give up on...the return of the soldiers from the field of battle, has no moral authority to continue and direct as Defense Minister of the State of Israel. We call on the Prime Minister to clarify, both to the Defense Minister and the Israeli public, the government's position in relation to the return home of Hadar and Oron." On the flip side, Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamad, a leader of the Religious Zionist movement, supports Liberman's choice. "Liberman should be praised, not condemned, for his clear and correct position against deals with the terror organization Hamas," Rabbi Melamed emphasized. "I am certain that the Defense Minister, like all Israeli citizens, puts out every effort to bring back the bodies of the soldiers, but not through deals like the Shalit deal - which Jews paid for with their lives."
A US delegation on religious freedom said on Monday it cut short its visit to Saudi Arabia after one of its members was asked to remove his kippah, AFP reported. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said its delegation was near Riyadh visiting Diriyah, a historic town that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, when the commission's chair, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, "refused their requests that he remove his religious head covering." "No one should be denied access to a heritage site, especially one intended to highlight unity and progress, simply for existing as a Jew," Rabbi Cooper said in a statement. The USCIRF said Rabbi Cooper and its vice chair, Reverend Frederick Davie, were invited to tour the site last Tuesday as part of their official visit when, after several delays to the tour, officials requested that Rabbi Cooper remove his kippah "while at the site and anytime he was to be in public, even though the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs had approved the site visit." Rabbi Cooper said that Saudi Arabia "is in the midst of encouraging change under its 2030 Vision" but added, "However, especially in a time of raging antisemitism, being asked to remove my kippah made it impossible for us from USCIRF to continue our visit." The USCIRF said it was particularly regrettable it happened to the representative of "an American government agency that promotes religious freedom." The commission is a US government advisory body mandated by the US Congress. The Saudi embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to AFP request for comment. The incident comes against a backdrop of tensions between Saudi Arabia and Israel over the war in Gaza. While Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have ties, the US has been working on promoting a normalization agreement. Israel and Saudi Arabia appeared to be on track towards normalization before Hamas’ October 7 attack against Israel and the war in Gaza which followed. Shortly after the start of the war in Gaza, sources told Reuters that Saudi Arabia is putting the US-backed plans to normalize ties with Israel on ice. Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, later said that he believes talks on normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia will resume immediately after the conclusion of the war in Gaza. Related articles: 'Good progress on Israel-Saudi normalization' Saudi Arabia announces funding for UNRWA 'Incident involving rabbi's kippah was unfortunate' 'Stop crimes against our brothers in Palestine' Prince Faisal said in late February that normalization with Israel requires both an end to the fighting in the Gaza Strip as well as the establishment of a Palestinian state. On Sunday, Saudi King Salman called for halting what he described the “heinous crimes” in the Gaza Strip.