Israel, Gilad Shalit’s 1600th day of Captivity

On November 11, 2010 Israelis have marked 1,600 days since the day Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was captured by Hamas in a cross-border raid near Kerem Shalom and held as a prisoner in the Gaza Strip.

Gilad Shalit is an Israeli soldier who was captured on 25 June 2006 by Hamas in a cross-border raid and has been held as a prisoner in the Gaza Strip. He was the first Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants since 1994. His parents are camping outside of Israeli Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem to pressure the government into striking a deal for Shalit's release.

Since the day of the capture, the Israeli government and the International Community tried to reach a deal with Hamas for Gilad’s release but the negotiations have been stuck in recent months.
Hamas demands the release of 1,000 prisoners (450 of these jailed for violent attack on Israelis) but Israel refuses to agree to release most of them. A crescent part of the Israeli society and Gilad’s parents - Noam and Aviva - calls on Prime Minister to “make a courageous decision” and agree to the price set by Hamas for his release, but Benjamin Netanyahu has said that “the price is simply too high. Israel is willing to pay a heavy price for Shalit but not any price".

Hamas has refused requests to allow the International Red Cross to visit Shalit and only three letters, an audio and a video have been released to prove that Gilad - corporal in the IDF at the time of his abduction and recently promoted to staff sergeant - is still alive.

For Gilad Shalit's 1600th day of captivity, his parents received hundreds of people who support the cause of their son's release. Media were also present and in front of them Noam Shalit changed the numbers of the ticker located in front of the tent and next to the entrance to the PM residence in West Jerusalem.

Article published by Digital Journal on November 16th 2010.