Last October, I reported that Hamas had captured an Israeli-Ethiopian who’d crossed the border into Gaza. Shabak ordered the story placed under gag and warned the family not to notify any media about it.
Hamas rubbed its hands with glee at the capture of an Israeli citizen, believing it would give it leverage in negotiating the release of further Palestinian prisoners. Last October, I featured a photo of a Hamas billboard boasting of a mystery prisoner it held who would lead to freedom for more Palestinian detainees.
Israel knew this and deliberately refused to acknowledge the capture or negotiate for his release.
Hamas tired of this game and today released a statement via Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen TV (Arabic) publicly confirming that it’s holding the Israeli citizen. Al-Mayadeen is a source known to be sympathetic to both Hezbollah and Hamas. According to the report, he was swimming in the sea near Ashkelon, his home, and was swept out to sea. When he came ashore in Gaza, Palestinians captured him and handed him to Hamas, where he has remained.
Hamas, attempting to shame the Israelis, says that the government has refused to negotiate for his release because he’s African. It also says the statement that the prisoner is mentally ill is another stratagem to reduce the price of exchange.
Actually, racism is probably one of the major components in Israel’s lack of response to this situation. Another, is that clearly since the Shalit prisoner exchange, Israel has put in place a Draconian new approach: it will not negotiate in such circumstances. It would rather kill IDF soldiers, as it did during Protective Edge, than allow them fall into enemy hands. And if a citizen is kidnapped, especially a civilian for whom the State feels no special responsibility, it will refuse to deal.
I tried contacting various Israeli government ministries about the story. I could not read anyone in the Prime Minister’s Office after being on hold several minutes. After several attempts at the foreign ministry, I reached Paul Hirschson, the deputy press officer and he said he was “aware of the story” and “had nothing more to add about it.” I’ll let you be the judge whether this is a country that cares about its citizens when they’re neither Ashkenazi, Mizrahi or IDF.
Above I featured an Israeli 2010 TV comedy skit which portrayed a Hamas cell which captures an IDF soldier. The commander praises his fighters and their heroism in bringing such a gift which will free so many Palestinian prisoners…until they remove the soldier’s hood and discover that he’s an Ethiopian-Israeli. That’s when they realize that no Israeli government will pay anything for an Ethiopian. The commander berates the cell members for kidnapping the wrong type of Israeli and tells them to do better next time.
They decide to free the prisoner, but he won’t leave. They fear they’ve insulted him and consider telling him they’ve already received prisoner’s in exchange for him. But they reject the idea, realizing that even he won’t believe Israel would’ve done this on his behalf. Finally, the soldier asks for a ride to the border and they ask why he needs one since “his kind” knows how to run so well.
“I featured a photo of a Hamas billboard boasting of a mystery prisoner ”
Prisoner X. I thought that only Israel did that.
The castaway story is bull. No one gets pulled out to sea and drifts miles away, when the local ocean currents travel north to south. http://www.waterindustry.org/New%20Projects/israel-1.htm
My guess is that the detainee is a wayward African migrant and not a citizen.
@ Figg: That’s another good diversion, but false. He’s an Israeli citizen & you can’t simply wave your hand and absolve yourselves of any responsibility for him. Or if you you’ll rightly be called racist for abandoning your African citizens.
If an Israeli citizen chose to enter Gaza I don’t see why Israel should barter for his return. Maybe he doesn’t want to return. If the citizen is mentally ill, than Hamas is more cynical in holding him than Israel is racist.
The fact that Hamas make banners proclaiming some sort of victory in capturing the this guy is pretty sick.
Going on with your libels, I see. The truth, of course, is that Israel went to great lengths to free Azzam Azzam and Rafram Haddad when they were captured, and they were neither Ashkenazi, Mizrahi nor IDF. Your passion of coloring Israel black no matter what it does blinds you yet again.
Rafram Haddad is a Tunisian Jew born in the island of Djerba – arrested in Libya for being an Israeli spy, he was later freed thanks to Avigdor Lieberman’s intervention. He is thus very Mizrachi. Azzam Azzam however, is an Israeli Druze – he spent 8 years in an Egyptian prison, before being freed in a prisoner exchange, accused of using women’s underwear soaked in invisible ink to pass information to the Mossad. I couldn’t make this up if I wanted to.
” Lieberman was a nightclub bouncer back in his native Moldova and is known for his hot temper and beating up teenage boys”
How about adding some context Richard? Three boys had assaulted Lieberman’s son and Lieberman later punched one of boys in the face.
Yup. Lieberman and Dahlan are cut from the same cloth.
Just because my son has an altercation with peers doesn’t give me the right as an adult to beat the crap out of them. Especially if I’m supposed to be a responsible political leader. But no doubt among his constituency it made him a hero. You neglected to say he was arrested and charged with assault.
And you neglected to mention that Lieberman confessed to the crime and was sentenced.
@ Figg: “Sentenced?” To what? House arrest in his Nokdim villa for six hrs?
How come that half a year later nothing is heard of this story? Neither Hamas nor any other Palestinian source doesn’t say anything? Parents and family members of the Israeli soldier don’t cry out?
@ Larry Leshem: The government & security forces tell the family to be quiet & the family, probably poor & uneducated in the ways of public discourse, obeys. They’re cowed.