The uncle of Hila Rotem, 13, who was released by Hamas on Saturday, says he doesn’t believe that the Palestinian militant group doesn’t know where her mother Raaya Rotem is.
Yair Rotem, who is Raaya’s brother, said the pair were meant to be released at the same time, telling CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Monday that “there was no reason to separate them.”
Hila told him that she had “been with Raaya the whole time,” he added.
“Hila told me, ‘Look at my hair, my mother cut it when we were in captivity.’ So they were together,” the uncle said.
The Israel Defense Forces has said that their separation violated the terms of the deal.
IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told CNN this weekend that when the IDF asked about Hila’s mother, Hamas said it did not know where she was — a claim that Yair dismisses.
“I urge all the parties involved to pressure Hamas to respect the deal,” Yair said. “We need to respect it, they need to respect it. Stop playing those games.”
Yair also spoke of the uncertainty around what will happen to Raaya.
“I’m sure my sister, Hila’s mother, don’t know what’s going to be next,” he said. “Are they going to set her free, are they going to jail her again, are they going to murder her?”
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