(MENAFN- Gulf Times)
The mother (L) brother (C) and father (R) of Avraham Mengistu 29 an Israeli of Ethiopian descent who is reportedly being held captive in the Gaza Strip gives a press conference in the southern city of Ashkelon yesterday
AFP/ Jerusalem
A top aide has apologised for telling relatives of an Israeli reportedly held captive by Hamas in the country's latest hostage crisis that he would suffer if they went public.
Avraham Mengistu is one of two Israelis whose suspected detention in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip was revealed on Thursday after a gag order was lifted.
The defence ministry confirmed that Mengistu an Israeli of Ethiopian descent had been missing presumed held captive since crossing into the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip last September.
The lifting of the 10-month gag order allowed the private Channel 10 television to air audio of Lior Lotan - coordinator of prisoner of war and missing in action affairs in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office - haranguing Mengistu's family.
Lotan's comments were widely condemned by the Israeli media as intimidation.
"He has apologised for both the tone and content of the conversation" an official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Israel does not allow its citizens to enter Gaza partly out of fears that they may be used as bargaining chips to demand concessions including the release of prisoners.
Israeli authorities strove to keep the plight of the two citizens secret to the extent that then foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman and members of the parliamentary defence and foreign affairs committee said they had been kept totally unaware.
The Israeli parliament admitted a breakdown in the work of its intelligence oversight subcommittee.
"In this case it appears that there was a specific failure. We shall study the case and ensure that it is not repeated" it said in a statement late Thursday.
The second Israeli believed held captive in Gaza is an Arab citizen about whom details are still under court-imposed restrictions.
Mengistu belongs to Israel's 135000-strong ethnic Ethiopian community which says it suffers from racism and discrimination.
Members have staged several rallies against alleged police brutality and racism in recent months some of which turned violent.
"Anyone who makes Avera into a story about relations between the Ethiopian community and the state of Israel will leave him in Gaza for another year" Lotan is heard telling Mengistu's family using the name by which he is known to friends and relatives.
"If we aren't together we will make mistakes and Hamas will translate them into another year or another price" he said.
'Repulsive'
Israeli media condemned the comments as patronising and insensitive.
"I cannot recall a conversation as repulsive as the one we heard yesterday" Sima Kadmon wrote in the top-selling Yediot Aharonot.
"All he had to say to them sounded like a series of threats and intimidations."
In 2011 Israel released more than 1000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for soldier Gilad Shalit who had been held by Hamas for five years.
Writing in Maariv commentator Eitan Haber an adviser to late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin said Netanyahu was anxious to avoid a reprise of the Shalit affair which saw public opinion sharply divided for and against the mass release.
"The prime minister did not and does not want to repeat the same manoeuvre in which dozens of life prisoners who were supposed to take their last breath within the confines of an Israeli prison were freed" Haber wrote.
"(He) understood that publicity was a double-edged sword and was raising the price of any Israeli being held by terror organisations across the border."
In indirect negotiations for the return of remains of two Israel soldiers killed during the 2014 Gaza war Hamas is demanding the release of Palestinians freed in the Shalit deal and later returned to prison for what Israel said were fresh offences.
A member of the Hamas political bureau in Gaza told AFP the matter was in the hands of the group's armed wing.
However he said "nothing is for free" speaking on condition of anonymity. "In advance of any discussion Hamas demands the release of all the prisoners freed in the swap for Gilad Shalit and subsequently re-arrested."
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.