Captive's father: Israel manipulated by Nasrallah

Yonat Atlas

Shlomo Goldwasser, father of kidnapped Israeli soldier Ehud Goldwasser, said at a Beersheba cultural event Saturday that the Israeli government is “not creative enough” in its approach to negotiations with Hizbullah, and is merely following the game plan set by Hizbullah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah Reacting to a recent speech made by Nasrallah, Goldwasser called it “sheer manipulation.” “Nasralla has trafficked in our sons’ basic human rights in the past, and now he is trafficking their bodies. If he had any intention to hold real negotiations he would have called in the Red Cross and held real talks by now,” he said



Goldwasser also accused the Israeli government of being lax in its efforts to bring the kidnapped soldiers home, and of not putting forth enough effort into negotiations for their release.



“I am constantly told that bringing our kidnapped boys home is at the top of the government’s agenda, but I don’t feel that way,” said Goldwasser. “The government is not very creative in its dealings with Nasrallah, and is merely following his lead. Neither the prime minister nor defense minister have even attempted to directly contact Nasrallah.”



'Life goes on'
Calling Hizbullah's chief a “trapped rat ever since the Second Lebanon War”, Goldwasser also stated that he was “confident that Nasrallah would respond to any communiqué sent to him by the Israeli prime minister, if one would only be sent forth.”




In spite of the pain, hardships, and disappointments, however, both Mr. and Mrs. Goldwasser stated that their family is struggling to maintain some semblance of normalcy in their lives in spite of Ehud’s marked absence.




Ehud’s wife, Karnit, is set to complete the Master’s thesis that she had put aside for two years this week, and his father Shlomo is now returning to work, and even traveling to South Africa on business next week.



“We are not about to give up”, said Shlomo Goldwasser. “I want to pass along a personal message to Nasrallah and let him know that we will not surrender, because I have recently come to realize that he relishes in the suffering of innocent civilians and families who have no word of their loved ones.”







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