Father of missing Haimanot Kasao slams state inaction

At a rally held for Haimanot Kasao, the nine-year-old girl who has been missing for years after disappearing from the absorption center in Tzfat, her father Tesfaye Kasao delivered sharp words and called for direct involvement by the Prime Minister and the security establishment in the case.

"We are here with a single message for the Prime Minister," Kasao said during the protest. "If he is the prime minister of a democratic state, then he must instruct that David Zini and the Shin Bet take responsibility for the investigation of Haimanot. Baruch Hashem our state is strong and has the technology. We know what it did against Hamas and against Iran, and we know it can enter tunnels or a specific room. We know they can do everything and we are proud of it, but compared to what I just said, the State of Israel did nothing to bring back a nine-year-old girl. It's a disgrace."

Kasao went on to level harsh criticism at the priorities in allocating resources: "For our little girl they didn't invest the resources, and now the demand and the claim will be not only ours and not only of the Kasao family, but of everyone. Even if we don't have the tools to demand, we know that you are our strength and you will help us. You are here and that's good, because today it's our girl and tomorrow it could be your girl."

At the end of his remarks he thanked those who came to support the family's struggle: "We know it's not simple to come because of time and distance, and we know it demands time and strength from you and you are sacrificing yourselves for her. I ask that you continue to come, that's the only way we'll succeed, that's how Haimanot will come back."