Israel refuses Haniyeh request to allow sisters to attend son's Gaza wedding
Haniyeh's sisters, holders of Israeli citizenship, live in the Beduin town of Tel Sheva, a suburb of Beersheba.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFUpdated: AUGUST 21, 2015 05:39Ismail Haniyeh talks to his supporters during a Hamas rally in Gaza City(photo credit: REUTERS)
Israel has refused to let Gaza Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh invite his three Israeli sister’s to Gaza to celebrate his son’s wedding.The sisters live in Israeli Beduin communities.On Thursday, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj.-Gen.Yoav Mordechai refused Haniyeh’s request to grant his sisters entry permits for Gaza.Mordechai added that he had also refused a request by a spokesman for the Hamas government in Gaza, Ihab Ghussein, to travel to Jordan though Israel to seek medical treatment for a serious condition.COGAT has similarly refused other medical requests by senior Hamas figures in Gaza who want to receive treatment in Israel.The harsh stance against the Hamas leadership comes as Israel is pressing it to return two Israelis believed to be held against their will in Gaza: Avera Mengistu, who has been missing since September 2014, and an Israeli Beduin who has been held since this April.On Wednesday at a ceremony to commemorate fallen soldiers in the Golani Brigade, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon vowed to continue working to bring back the remains of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were killed in Gaza last year during Operation Protective Edge.The getting tough with Hamas comes amid reports of efforts by Palestinian businessmen, former British prime minister Tony Blair, as well as Western officials and politicians to negotiate a long-term truce between Israel and Hamas. Israel has denied these reports.