The government has issued a full response to a High Court petition filed by the family of Lt. Hadar Goldin, one of two IDF soldiers killed in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge in 2014 whose remains are still being held by Hamas.
The Goldin family demanded that the government stop family visits to Hamas operatives imprisoned in Israel and stop releasing the bodies of Hamas terrorists for burial.
In its response, the government admitted that the National Security Council had found that a decision by the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet on the issue last year, including a halt to humanitarian visits, had not been fully implemented.
"The head of the National Security Council determined that the cabinet decision must henceforth be interpreted as applying exactly as worded to terrorist operatives whom security officials have identified as Hamas members, or any immediate relation of a Hamas member, all in accordance with legal constraints," the government response read.
In response, the Goldin family said, "This is a small step in our grand mission of bringing Hadar – who was an Israeli hero and who fell during Protective Edge – home.
"We have no desire to defeat the Israeli government in court. We want victory over the terrorist group Hamas, and for Hadar and Oron [Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, the other soldier whose remains are being held by Hamas] to come home."
