Foreign Minister Eli Cohen responded this morning (Sunday) to a tweet by the Prime Minister of Ireland Leo Varadkar, in which he referred to the release of the kidnapped girl Emily Hand and described her as an "innocent girl who was lost". In his words, Cohen attacked Vardakar for not mentioning that Hand was kidnapped by Hamas to the Gaza Strip.
"Mr. Prime Minister, it seems you have lost your moral compass and need a reality check," Cohen claimed in a tweet he posted on X (formerly Twitter). "Emily Hand was not lost, she was kidnapped by a terrorist organization worse than ISIS, after her stepmother was murdered."
He also mentioned that "Emily and over 30 other Israeli children were kidnapped by Hamas, and you are trying to legitimize it and normalize terrorism. Shame on you!"
As you may remember, last night Varadkar reacted to the release of the 8-year-old Hand and claimed in a tweet that "This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family. An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered."
His words caused a widespread uproar, when the one who did know how to properly address the situation was the journalist Piers Morgan who interviewed Emily's father, Tom Hand. Morgan tweeted on his 'X' account that "this poor man's interviews since October 7th have broken my heart. But tonight, Thomas Hand will be reunited with the daughter he thought was kidnapped and killed by Hamas. The news that Emily is going to be back with her father is just wonderful. I am so happy for him."
