Netanyahu vows to bring back body of Gaza soldier

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Friday to recover the body of soldier Oron Shaul who was killed in Gaza in 2014 following his father's death.

"In the name of all Israel, we share in the family's pain and assure them we will continue to do everything to bring Oron back so he can be buried according to Jewish ritual," Netanyahu said.

He was speaking after paying a condolence visit to the soldier's family after the death of his father, Herzl Shaul, of cancer.

Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday he was determined to recover the bodies of two soldiers killed in Gaza, including Shaul, although he was opposed to striking a deal with Hamas which rules the Palestinian territory.

Shaul, a soldier in the 2014 Gaza war, was believed by the Israeli army to have been killed along with Hadar Goldin, and the Islamist movement Hamas is thought to hold their bodies.

Channel 10 television on Monday quoted Lieberman as saying, in private conversations, that the return of the soldiers' remains was improbable and that he does not want to negotiate with Hamas.

The report triggered an uproar with Goldin's twin brother, Tzour, telling military radio that Lieberman was ignoring "his responsibilities and the army's code of ethics".

Goldin's family later issued a statement denouncing "the abandonment of soldiers on the battlefield by the minister of the defence".

But the ultra-nationalist Lieberman dismissed the accusations against him.

Source; AFP