Hamas released a video recording of Avera Mengistu who has been imprisoned by Hamas for the last eight years after he crossed the border fence into the Gaza Strip in 2014.
- In the short clip he is seen on camera saying: “I am the prisoner Avera Mengistu. How much longer will I be here, I and my friends, in captivity after long and painful years? Where are the Israeli state and people to care about our fate?”
- The video also quotes outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Kochavi, saying that he regretted having failed to bring the MIAs and civilian captives home before the end of his tenure.
- The Hamas video then shows footage from the IDF handover ceremony, with the message: “Your predecessor left you lies.”
- The clip was being studied by Israeli experts to ascertain its authenticity. It appears to be the first indication of proof that the Israeli civilian is still alive eight years into his incarceration.
- Yesterday Prime Minister Netanyahu related to the clip saying: “Israel has not ceased its efforts to bring back Avera Mengistu and our other captives and MIAs. Yesterday we received additional confirmation of what we have known all along – that Avera is alive. He is a young man, not in the best of health, and Hamas is entirely responsible for his fate.”
- The Mengistu family issued a statement: “It’s more urgent for us to get him back than to see him in a video. This is further proof that he is alive. The state needs to act quickly to bring him home. He appears to be healthy and taken care of. There’s no reason for him to remain in prison for even one day longer. Beyond that, it was very moving to see him. This is the first time that we’ve seen him.”
The release of the recording appears to have been deliberately timed to coincide with the first day of the new IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.
- The assessment in Israel is that the release was designed to divert attention from the occasion and embarrass the IDF.
- However, by releasing the video for “free” others have concluded that the recording attests to the pressure Hamas is feeling. In the past such videos confirming “proof of life” have come at a price. For example, Israel released several female Palestinian prisoners before Hamas agreed to release a video recording of Gilad Shalit.
- According to Mengistu’s family he suffered from mental health issues and crossed over into the Gaza Strip on his own volition, before being captured and held by Hamas. He went missing on September 7, 2014, leaving his home in Ashkelon with only a rucksack, walking ten km to the border and crossing the fence and entering the Gaza Strip.
- Last summer Hamas released a similar video of Hisham al-Sayed, the second Israeli citizen held captive by Hamas, who also crossed the border into the Gaza Strip in 2015.
- In addition Hamas still hold the remains of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, IDF soldiers killed in 2014.
- Beyond assessing that the footage is authentic, questions remain as when it was filmed.
- Foreign Minister Eli Cohen is sending letters to the Pope, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Red Cross president, and the head of the World Health Organisation asking them to intercede to secure the release of Mengistu and the other captives.
The video suggests Hamas is keen to reach an agreement with Israel for a prisoner exchange deal.
- As with most aspects of Israel’s approach to the Gaza Strip, negotiations over a potential deal are facilitated by the Egyptians, who reiterated this morning that they are ready to renew their role.
- Israel will need to appoint a new chief negotiator after Yaron Blum resigned at the end of October.
- Hamas continues to demand that Israel release several dozen murderers and prisoners who were released in the Gilad Shalit deal and re-arrested on terror charges.
- Hamas’s aim is to restart a public debate in Israel and pressure the government to move forward with a prisoner exchange deal.