Israel’s security cabinet has decided that the bodies of Hamas terrorists killed during attacks on Israelis won’t be returned to their families. Instead, they’ll be buried in a cemetery for enemy dead.
The cabinet made the decision during a special meeting Sunday in which officials discussed efforts to retrieve the bodies of IDF officers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, the two soldiers who fell in Gaza while fighting during Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014. The bodies of both soldiers have been held by the Hamas terrorist organization ever since.
A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office later in the day said the cabinet worked on strategies to win release of the bodies of the two soldiers, as well as to win release of two other Israelis – Avraham (Abera) Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed – with mental health issues who crossed the border into Gaza more than a year ago and are being held in the enclave.
The decision by the cabinet followed the release of a vicious video by Hamas this weekend, mocking Israel and the parents of one of the soldiers, with the music of a lullaby playing in the background.
The face of Hadar Goldin was Photoshopped by the terror group onto a terrorist portraying a prisoner.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s face was Photoshopped on to the image of a second terrorist dressed as a clown, depicted as a visitor to the prisoner who then blew out the candles on a birthday cake, throwing the entire screen into darkness.
Hadar Goldin was the nephew of former Defense Minister Moshe “Boogie” Ya’alon, who was serving as Defense Minister during Operation Protective Edge and who personally was tasked with informing Goldin’s family of the loss of their son. Ya’alon had also served in the past as IDF Chief of Staff.