Yair Rosenberg // Top U.S. Envoy Slams Hamas For Holding Mentally Ill Ethiopian Jew Hostage in Gaza – Tablet Magazine

19.11.17

Top U.S. Envoy Slams Hamas For Holding Mentally Ill Ethiopian Jew Hostage in Gaza – Tablet Magazine: For a time, Mengistu’s predicament was kept under gag order, in the hopes that not publicizing and politicizing his predicament would make it easier for Hamas—the U.S. and E.U.-designated terrorist group that controls Gaza—to release him. But over three years later, Hamas has still refused to return Mengistu to Israel, and mediation through the Red Cross has repeatedly failed.

In the face of this cruel abuse of an unwell man’s human rights, Greenblatt invited Mengistu’s family to the White House to raise awareness for his cause and ratchet up the international pressure on Hamas. Though doubtless a powerful gesture, it seems unlikely to produce results, given that Hamas has previously held onto Israel hostages for years while using their likenesses in sadistic propaganda videos.