Knesset security officer Yossi Grif has decided to assign a security detail to MK Oren Hazan (Likud), after his confrontation Monday with the families of Hamas terrorists was met with outrage and threats from the terror organization.
On Monday,Israeli activists with The Task Force for the Release of Prisoners and Missing Persons blocked two buses from Gaza to Nafha Prison near the Negev city Mitzpe Ramon, demanding equal treatment for Israeli prisoners held in Gaza.
Passengers on the buses included women from Gaza, Judea, and Samaria, seeking to visit their convicted terrorist sons serving sentences in Israeli prisons.
Hazan, who accompanied the activists, confronted the terrorists’ family members.
"As I promised, I approached the Hamas bus which came to visit the scum they call family and I felt no fear," Hazan said. "In the stormy meeting, I told them that a terrorist's place is underground. And no, I did not mean tunnels."
Subsequently, Hamas expressed outrage at Hazan.
“We say to Oren Hazan the pig – our honor hasn’t been trampled,” terror official Fathi Hamad said. “Our honor is above any other consideration.”
“We treated the prisoners of war whom we captured from your army according to the Islamic ethic and our values and customs,” Hamad claimed. “Ask Gilad Shalit how we treated him gently and kindly when he was in captivity.”
This morning, the group threatened Hazan, saying that he “will pay for his wild and criminal attack.”
The stopping of the Hamas buses yesterday by The Task Force for the Release of Prisoners and Missing Persons comes as a response to the fact that Hamas has been holding the bodies of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul since the 2014 Operation Protective Edge.
In addition, two Israeli civilians who went missing in Gaza - Avra Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed - are believed to be held by Hamas.
On Sunday, senior Task Force member Yoel Marshak told Arutz Sheva, "We get on the bus and explain to them in Arabic the need for reciprocity."
"Naturally, they are angry at the delay and tell us they have no connection with Hamas, but we hope they send the message to Hamas."
Referring to the Israelis held by Hamas, Marshak concluded, "It is inconceivable that they can visit the terrorists in our prisons, while the families of [Oron] Shaul, [Hadar] Goldin and [Avra] Mengistu cannot [visit their loved ones]."
"According to the Geneva Convention, we do not have to allow them to visit their sons. The Red Cross visits them and that is enough. We demand that Israel puts a stop to these visits as long as they do not allow us to visit our captives."
