Katz: No arrangement with Hamas without returning Goldin and Shaul
“There will not be an arrangement without the return of the captives and missing soldiers, but there could be calm,” he told Army Radio.
By LAHAV HARKOVSt.Sgt. Oron Shaul, whose remains are held by Hamas in Gaza(photo credit: COURTESY SHAUL FAMILY)
Israel will not reach a long-term ceasefire arrangement with Hamas unless Israeli captives and the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers in Gaza are returned, Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz said on Monday.“There will not be an arrangement without the return of the captives and missing soldiers, but there could be calm,” he told Army Radio.Hamas has held the remains of Lt. Hadar Goldin and St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul since 2014 and is keeping Israeli citizens Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed captive.The Egypt-mediated attempt for a ceasefire arrangement does not mean “the wolf will live with the lamb,” Katz said, citing Isaiah 11:6. “This is an attempt to create some kind of calm in the short term.”“Hamas is a murderous organization with a murderous ideology, but they have to make practical decisions in the short term,” he said.“I’m not sure it’ll work. There are rebellious factors [in Gaza],” he added. “We cannot accept a lack of quiet in the South or anywhere else.”In the meantime, to keep Israel more secure, the government is examining whether a short-term ceasefire arrangement is possible, he said.Katz’s comments came a day after National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat briefed the Security Cabinet on progress toward a long-term ceasefire arrangement with Hamas, which has said it will stop the weekly “Great March of Return” riots at the border with Israel for the next three months.The Egypt-mediated ceasefire would involve Israel easing trade for Gazans, including increasing entry permits and broadening the fishing zone off the Strip, as well as allowing the construction of a natural-gas pipeline and greater medical assistance.The media in Gaza reported on Sunday night that Israel will allow tires into Gaza, which were banned for two years, since the riots at the border began.
