Goldin Family, Liberman Square Off Over Gaza Burial for Hamas Engineer
Written by TPS on April 22, 2018
The family of an IDF soldier whose body has been held in Gaza for nearly four years has demanded that Israel prevent Hamas from holding a mass funeral for Fadi al-Batsh, a member of the terror group’s armed wing who was shot dead outside a Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia mosque on Saturday as he headed for pre-dawn prayers.
The family of Hadar Goldin, whose body was abducted following a Hamas ambush during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge, demanded that Israel refuse to allow al-Batsh to be buried in Gaza until their son’s remains were returned to Israel body for burial, a call seconded by Education Minister Naftali Bennett.
“Fadi al-Batsh, a member of the Hamas military wing who was killed in Malaysia, must not be allowed to be buried in Gaza until the bodies of Hadar Golden and Shaul Oron are released for burial in Israel. I will raise this issue with the prime minister,” Bennett wrote on Twitter.
Following the attack, the Universiti Kuala Lumpur British Malaysian Institute (UniKL BMI) confirmed that al-Batsh served as a researcher in power engineering at the university. Hebrew-language media also reported that al-Batsh’s research focused on developing unmanned drones for the organization.
Israeli officials declined to respond to the allegations that Mossad agents were behind the assassination. But Hamas officials pointed the finger at Israel for the murder of 35-year-old Fadi M. al-Batsh, a Gaza-born member of the organization’s armed wing who was
“Israel has an ‘open account’ with the Palestinian people and has now taken the war between the sides overseas,” said Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ leader in Gaza in a thinly-veiled threat to attack Israeli targets abroad.
Update: Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said Sunday that Hamas allegations that Israel was responsible for the assassination of al-Batsh were no more reliable than accusations that fictional character “James Bond” had carried out the murder.
Liberman also said that while the government has used the “appropriate channels” to ask Egypt to prevent al-Batsh’s body from entering Gaza via the Rafah Crossing, ultimately Israel could not prevent Egypt from allowing the transfer of the corpse to take place.
But Simcha Goldin, father of Lt. Hadar Goldin, criticised Liberman for trying to “hide behind Egypt,” saying that the Israeli government should to pressure the Egyptians if needed to ensure that al-Batsh does not receive a heroes funeral in Gaza.