"Progress has been made on the matter of Israel's missing captive soldiers and civilians," being held by Hamas in Gaza, Labor MK Emilie Moatti said Saturday evening at a cultural event in Petach Tikva.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Moatti is also a member of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
"It's sensitive and classified, and things are happening that I won't go into detail about, but I'm optimistic that they will soon be home," she said, referring to the bodies of fallen soldiers Lt. Hadar Goldin and Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, and civilians Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who have been held prisoner since they crossed the border in 2014.
"This [assessment] is based on a brief we received three weeks ago, about which I won't elaborate," she added.
On Sunday, Hamas deputy Zaher Jabarin, who is in charge of the terrorist organization's prisoners' affairs desk, denied Moatti's claim that progress had been made.
According to Jabarin, there has been no progress because Israel hasn't taken any serious steps to move things forward. He also alleged that the sporadic Israeli statements on the matter were intended to relieve the government of the pressure that the families of the missing and captive Israelis.
In response to Moatti's comments, Aviram Shaul, the brother of Oron Shaul, wrote on Twitter: "I hope this isn't just more diversionary tactics at the expense of the families as the current government continues the same policies of the Netanyahu government by not working to bring back the captives! I can only hope."
He added: "And one more important thing, if you asked yourselves whether the families were updated on the brief in question, then no, we weren't."
Moatti herself responded to Shaul's tweet to offer a clarification.
"My comments [Saturday evening] were somewhat taken out of context. If you will, let me clarify: The State of Israel is working all the time to bring the boys home. This is what was presented to the committee. I'm naturally optimistic and hope for good news on the matter. I'm not aware of any concrete progress at this time, rather ongoing efforts that I hope will bear fruit," she tweeted.
Moatti added that she "spoke with a relative of one of the missing soldiers and made this clear to him as well. A good week to us all!"
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
