ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/DISAPPEARANCE UPDATE Missing Israeli's family urge government to secure his release

Record ID: 147828

  • Title: ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/DISAPPEARANCE UPDATE Missing Israeli's family urge government to secure his release
  • Date: 9th July 2015
  • Summary: ASHKELON, ISRAEL (JULY 9, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GATHERING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE BY FAMILY OF AVRAHAM MENGISTO, ISRAELI CIVILIAN OF ETHIOPIAN ORIGIN MENGISTO'S MOTHER CRYING (SOUNDBITE) BROTHER OF ISRAELI CIVILIAN AVRAHAM MENGISTO, ILAN MENGISTO, SAYING: "On my behalf and my family's behalf, I call on the government of Israel to do everything to bring my brother h
  • Embargoed: 24th July 2015 13:00
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  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVACROR7LREFU4VJZK370UFIG1KD
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    The family of an Israeli civilian of Ethiopian origin who Israel says is being held by Hamas in Gaza appealed on Thursday (July 9) to both the Islamist group and the Israeli government to secure his release.
    Israel's Defence Ministry said there was "credible intelligence" that Avraham Mengisto, born in 1986, a resident of Ashkelon, the nearest Israeli city to the Gaza Strip, "is being held against his will by Hamas in Gaza".
    It said he had crossed the border on foot on Sept. 7, 2014.
    Mengisto's brother Ilan urged the Israeli government to intervene to bring him back.
    "On my behalf and my family's behalf, I call on the government of Israel to do everything to bring my brother home in peace. I call on the international community to intervene and activate all its influence to release my brother," he said.
    He also urged Hamas to consider his brother's medical state and free him.
    Israel fears militants in Gaza will use its citizens as bargaining chips for the release of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
    The defence ministry said there was an "additional case of an Israeli Arab who is being held in Gaza". It did not give details.
    During a tour alongside the Gaza fence, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said there was no doubt the two were held in Gaza.
    "We have no doubt that they are in Gaza. They probably didn't move from Gaza to a different place. Of course we demand from the authorities or whoever is holding them in Gaza to do the things that we are committed to as humans. This should be clear," he said.
    "We have been following this and have known about it, and we act with care and reason to bring to a situation in which we can bring them back to Israel if and when it's possible," Rivlin said.
    Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was abducted by militants in a cross-border raid in 2006, was released after more than five years in captivity in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails.
    Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said earlier this week Israel was seeking the return of the remains of two soldiers killed during last year's Gaza war.
    Israeli media said Mengisto crossed of his own volition into the Gaza Strip, circumventing the border along the beach.
    The Defence Ministry said Israel had "appealed to international and regional interlocutors to demand (Mengisto's) immediate release and verify his well-being" and would "continue to pursue the release and return of the citizen to Israel."
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