Josef Federman

The mother of Avraham Mengistu, 28, weeps during a family press conference, at the costal city of Ashkelon, Israel, Thursday, July 9, 2015. An Israeli security official said Thursday the Hamas militant group has been holding Mengistu in the Gaza Strip for nearly a year. The Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said Mengistu, born in 1986 from the Israeli city of Ashkelon, independently crossed the border fence into the Gaza Strip in September last year, nearly two weeks after the end of the Israel-Gaza war. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov) (Tsafrir Abayov/AP)

Amid detente with Hamas, Israel says 2 citizens held in Gaza

Gershon Baskin claims that the 2 Israeli citizens being held captive in the Gaza Strip are not a valuable asset like a captured soldier, and they are not a high-value bargaining card.

By Josef Federman, 11 yearsJuly 9, 2015 ago

Senior editor and writer at The Associated Press supervising all news coverage of Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Amid detente with Hamas, Israel says 2 citizens held in Gaza