Simcha Goldin
Simcha GoldinKobi Richter/TPS

Simcha Goldin, father of IDF soldier Hadar Goldin whose body is being held by Hamas in Gaza, on Friday called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot to honor their commitment and bring back Hadar, fellow soldier Oron Shaul and two Israeli civilians who are also held in Gaza as a precondition for any ceasefire arrangement in Gaza.

Prof. Goldin spoke at the weekly gathering organized by the "Misdar Hadar" organization, a group of volunteers advocating for the return of Hadar’s body.

Goldin said at the event, which was attended by about 200 people, that "it is clear to all that Israel and Hamas will ultimately agree to an international-sponsored arrangement. This will happen even if there is an escalation along the way, and a number of days of fighting. In the end there will be an agreement. And today of all days we want to remind you that Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Liberman and Chief of Staff Eizenkot have publicly pledged that there will be no agreement without returning the soldiers and civilians first. And we expect them to keep their promises."

Goldin added, "We feel obligated to mention that Hadar was abducted during a ceasefire. Anyone who is trying to return to the understandings from the end of Operation Protective Edge must remember that the ceasefire has not ended because the boys have not returned home."

"We have harsh criticism of the conduct of the government in recent months. Since the start of the riots organized by Hamas on the border fence at the end of March, hundreds of terrorists have infiltrated into Israel, and the security establishment is also holding hundreds of bodies of terrorists who attempted to attack or infiltrate into Israel. These are assets that the government has in place to exert pressure on Hamas and to hasten the return of Hadar, Oron, Hisham [al-Sayed], and Avera [Mengistu]. This is not being done and there is a great failure here," he said.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)