This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/09/two-israeli-citizens-held-gaza
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Israel says two citizens being held in Gaza | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| An Israeli man has been missing in Gaza for almost 10 months – presumed held captive by Hamas – after climbing over a border fence from a public beach adjoining the coastal strip. He is one of two Israeli citizens held alive in Gaza. | |
| The case of Avera Mengistu, 28, an Israeli-Ethiopian, was revealed on Thursday morning after a court lifted a gag order that has been in force since his disappearance. | |
| The second captive is a Bedouin man from Israel’s Negev desert. Israeli officials refused to say how long he has been held in Gaza or how he got there. They also would not say which group had him in custody. | |
| The disappearance of Mengistu was revealed after the Israeli newspaper Haaretz challenged the order and had it lifted. According to the newspaper, Mengistu’s family has been deeply critical of the Israeli government’s allegedly low-key handling of his case, saying the matter would have been handled differently if he was white. | The disappearance of Mengistu was revealed after the Israeli newspaper Haaretz challenged the order and had it lifted. According to the newspaper, Mengistu’s family has been deeply critical of the Israeli government’s allegedly low-key handling of his case, saying the matter would have been handled differently if he was white. |
| It said the family had not met with the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and he had not responded to a letter the family sent to him requesting help. A senior Israeli defence official quoted in the Hebrew media said there was no current information on Mengistu’s fate, but that he had initially been arrested by Hamas. | It said the family had not met with the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and he had not responded to a letter the family sent to him requesting help. A senior Israeli defence official quoted in the Hebrew media said there was no current information on Mengistu’s fate, but that he had initially been arrested by Hamas. |
| Related: UN accuses Israel and Hamas of possible war crimes during 2014 Gaza conflict | Related: UN accuses Israel and Hamas of possible war crimes during 2014 Gaza conflict |
| Hamas is also holding the bodies of two soldiers killed during last summer’s Gaza war – Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin. | |
| Mengistu, from the coastal city of Ashkelon, had apparently suffered mental health problems in the past and is believed to have been drinking on the day of his disappearance, when he climbed over a fence on Zikkim beach, adjoining Gaza. | Mengistu, from the coastal city of Ashkelon, had apparently suffered mental health problems in the past and is believed to have been drinking on the day of his disappearance, when he climbed over a fence on Zikkim beach, adjoining Gaza. |
| On the day he disappeared, Israeli military surveillance cameras spotted a man carrying a bag approaching the fence, who the camera operators believed was a Palestinian “returning” to Gaza. When soldiers, alerted to the figure, arrived, he had already climbed the fence leaving behind the bag, which contained a copy of the Hebrew Bible inside. It was at this point they realised he was Israeli. | On the day he disappeared, Israeli military surveillance cameras spotted a man carrying a bag approaching the fence, who the camera operators believed was a Palestinian “returning” to Gaza. When soldiers, alerted to the figure, arrived, he had already climbed the fence leaving behind the bag, which contained a copy of the Hebrew Bible inside. It was at this point they realised he was Israeli. |
| Security footage seen by Mengistu’s family apparently showed him walking calmly towards the fence, which he climbed over before approaching a tent on the other side. | Security footage seen by Mengistu’s family apparently showed him walking calmly towards the fence, which he climbed over before approaching a tent on the other side. |
| Related: Gaza: how it looks one year after the conflict – then and now | Related: Gaza: how it looks one year after the conflict – then and now |
| Speaking to Haaretz, Mengistu’s brother Yalo explained why the family had supported efforts to publicise the case. “We are fed up. We want to go public with his story. The day it happened, a person from the Shin Bet security service or the police called me and said my brother was in Gaza. I told my parents and my siblings, and that’s how we found out. But no one came to see us at our home. | Speaking to Haaretz, Mengistu’s brother Yalo explained why the family had supported efforts to publicise the case. “We are fed up. We want to go public with his story. The day it happened, a person from the Shin Bet security service or the police called me and said my brother was in Gaza. I told my parents and my siblings, and that’s how we found out. But no one came to see us at our home. |
| “Two weeks after I contacted [an Israeli MP], the commander of the Gaza division came to see us for the first time,” he told the paper. “He told me they knew my brother was in Gaza, and that they have people who are keeping track of him and will bring him back – but that we should not tell people.” | “Two weeks after I contacted [an Israeli MP], the commander of the Gaza division came to see us for the first time,” he told the paper. “He told me they knew my brother was in Gaza, and that they have people who are keeping track of him and will bring him back – but that we should not tell people.” |
| Yalo Mengistu claimed that if a white person had entered Gaza, the response would have been different. “It’s more than racism – I call it ‘anti-blackism’,” he said. “I am one million percent certain that if he were white, we would not have come to a situation like this.” | Yalo Mengistu claimed that if a white person had entered Gaza, the response would have been different. “It’s more than racism – I call it ‘anti-blackism’,” he said. “I am one million percent certain that if he were white, we would not have come to a situation like this.” |
| Yaakov Peri, an Israeli MP and former head of the Israel security service who has been briefed on the situation, said every effort was being made to bring Mengistu and the bodies of the Israeli soldiers back. | Yaakov Peri, an Israeli MP and former head of the Israel security service who has been briefed on the situation, said every effort was being made to bring Mengistu and the bodies of the Israeli soldiers back. |
| He added that there were several cases of people crossing the fence each year. | He added that there were several cases of people crossing the fence each year. |
| Adding fresh details in a conference call with reporters, Peri said: “[Mengistu] went missing between 7-8th September two weeks after the end of [operation] Protective Edge. The Israeli authorities identified his name and a couple of days later approached his family in Ashkelon and told them he crossed into Gaza and is being held by Hamas. | Adding fresh details in a conference call with reporters, Peri said: “[Mengistu] went missing between 7-8th September two weeks after the end of [operation] Protective Edge. The Israeli authorities identified his name and a couple of days later approached his family in Ashkelon and told them he crossed into Gaza and is being held by Hamas. |
| “Hamas said in the beginning it didn’t know anything about him. Several weeks later they said he was in Gaza but that they were not holding him. A couple of weeks after that they said he had left for Egypt. We know that is not true and that he is still probably being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and since then we have been trying to bring him back. | “Hamas said in the beginning it didn’t know anything about him. Several weeks later they said he was in Gaza but that they were not holding him. A couple of weeks after that they said he had left for Egypt. We know that is not true and that he is still probably being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and since then we have been trying to bring him back. |
| “For its own reasons Hamas has been keeping clandestine what is happening with him. My assessment is that Hamas will try to connect him [to negotiations for the return of the bodies] of two Israeli soldiers who were killed in operation Protective Edge.” | “For its own reasons Hamas has been keeping clandestine what is happening with him. My assessment is that Hamas will try to connect him [to negotiations for the return of the bodies] of two Israeli soldiers who were killed in operation Protective Edge.” |
| Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin, called on Thursday for Mengistu to be released on humanitarian grounds. | |
| “This is a painful situation which I … have been following closely since it began. I am in contact with the Mengistu family and I know that all the relevant authorities have been working tirelessly, and monitoring the issue closely, from the moment [he] crossed over the fence. | |
| “This is a humanitarian issue, and we expect those holding him to behave accordingly and return him in good health. According to the information which has arisen, Mengistu is being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. We will continue to make every effort in order to bring an end to this incident, as soon as possible.” | |
| Hamas officials have denied that Mengistu is in their custody but did not dismiss the possibility that he had been held after crossing the border. | Hamas officials have denied that Mengistu is in their custody but did not dismiss the possibility that he had been held after crossing the border. |