The Israel Electric Company (IEC) workers’ union announced on Thursday morning that they won’t repair the broken power lines in the Gaza Strip until the bodies of fallen soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul and missing Israeli civilian Avera Mengistu are returned to Israel.

“As a sign of solidarity and support for the struggle for the return of the boys, we do not intend to repair and return the power lines to Gaza that were damaged as a result of Hamas firing, until Hadar Goldin, Oron Shaul and Avera Mengistu are returned to Israel,” the union stated.

Electric power in the Gaza strip has been reduced from 16 hours per day to 4 hours due to Hamas rockets destroying five of ten high-voltage power lines supplying electricity to the Strip about a week ago. At the time, the IEC said that the power lines won’t be fixed until their workers can repair them safely.

In response to the union’s statement, the IEC issued its own statement, saying that IEC is a “government company, subject to the relevant laws, and we believe that electricity is a necessity that Israel is obligated to provide even during conflict.” The company stressed that it “hopes the boys are brought home.”

Simcha and Leah Goldin, the parents of Hadar Goldin, and Aviram Shaul, the brother of  Oron Shaul, called on the government this week not to end the operation against Hamas until the bodies of Hadar and Oren are returned along with Mengistu and Hisham Al-Saeed, an Israeli Bedouin who has been missing in Gaza since April 2015 and is believed to be held captive by Hamas.

“Senior members of both the defense and political establishments have consistently stressed that Israel will do everything in its power to retrieve Oron, Hadar, and the other captives held in Gaza. These hopes seem to disappear every time though,” said Shaul.

“I hear people on the news say that resolving the prisoner issue should not be a precondition for a ceasefire, and I ask myself, if not now, when?”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)