The Shin Bet will begin assisting in the search for Haymanut Kasau, two years after the child went missing at an absorption center in Safed.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara gave her approval for the intelligence agency to join the search for Kasau, who was 9 when she disappeared in the northern city. There has been little to no progress in the case since then.

Kasau’s family, which immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia three years before she went missing, has accused the government of not doing enough to find her. On Wednesday, the anniversary of her disappearance, the Knesset Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee held a special session dedicated to her, where lawmakers echoed the family’s calls for more to be done.

Kasau’s parents, who have led the campaign to raise awareness about their daughter, addressed the committee in tears via an Amharic translator,

“My daughter has been kidnapped for two years, and there is no new information about her,” said Kasau’s father, Tesfai. “The tears in our eyes have run dry, and our hearts bleed.”

Kasau was last seen on February 25, 2024, in Safed on security camera footage at 7:45 p.m., handing out municipal election leaflets with her friends outside the Jewish Agency absorption center, where she had lived since her family arrived in Israel.

Kasau’s father has called on the government to classify her disappearance as a kidnapping rather than a missing persons case. At the hearing, activists held up signs reading “Bring Haymanut Kasau home,” featuring the yellow ribbon that represented the campaign to free hostages held in Gaza.

Kasau’s father requested that the Shin Bet step in, as it “has more resources and capabilities.” Shortly afterward,........

© The Times of Israel