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Marking 4th Anniversary of Captured IDF Soldier Gilad Shalit
Gilad Shalit, 23, is now in his fifth year of captivity at the hands of Hamas in Gaza.
On May 31, “activists” participating in a six-vessel flotilla to Gaza rejected a request by Shalit’s father to bring his son a letter and small package from him. During the week of June 21, Hamas once again turned down an official request from the International Red Cross to visit. Gilad Shalit will be 24 years old on August 28 and was promoted in absentia to the rank of Staff Sergeant by the Israeli Defense Forces. Visit habanim.org to learn more and how you can participate in a petition calling for the immediate return of Gilad Shalit. Hamas Again Rejects Red Cross-Shalit Visit Israel Radio has reported that Hamas, the terrorist group that runs Gaza, has turned down another official request from the International Red Cross to visit Gilad Shalit in the Gaza Strip. The report states that Hamas fears that Israel could then use a military operation to free Shalit, the Hamas newspaper Falastin quoted Hamas lawmaker Yehia Moussa as saying. Such an operation could endanger Shalit's life, Moussa implied in the interview. Meanwhile, Shalit's grandfather, Zvi Shalit, met with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Shalit case negotiator Haggai Hadas to discuss progress in efforts to secure Shalit's freedom. Click here to view Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s July 1, 2010 remarks at a special press conference regarding the continued efforts to release kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.
In addition to Shalit, there are six other Israeli soldiers kidnapped or missing in action:
• Staff Sgt. Zecharya Baumel, Staff Sgt. Zvi Feldman and Staff Sgt. Yehuda Katz, missing since June 11, 1982, in a battle at Sultan Yakoub, Lebanon.
Netanyahu Examining New Ways to Free Shalit Speaking on June 21 before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had agreed to the release of 1,000 prisoners in return for Shalit. But while he said that new ways were “constantly” being sought to bring the soldier back, he added: “We can't release dangerous terrorists to places in the West Bank. “My responsibility is both to return Gilad to his family and to his nation, but also to take into consideration the security of all of Israel's citizens.” He stressed that “past experience shows that those released in previous deals murdered many Israelis. ”Our response to the German mediator on this issue was focused on the fact that we cannot release dangerous terrorists to places in Judea and Samaria from which they could murder Israeli citizens. We keep on looking for additional ways to bring Gilad home safe and sound,” he vowed. Resolution Introduced in U.S. House of Representatives House Resolution 1359 has been introduced in Congress by Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Gilad Shalit. Read full text of H.Res. 1359.
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On June 25, 2006, a then-19-year-old Corporal in the Israel Defense Forces, Shalit was abducted during a cross-border attack by Hamas on a military installation near Kibbutz Kerem Shalom in southern Israel — a raid during which two Israeli soldiers were killed. Though Shalit was wounded at the time, Hamas denied him medical attention. He has also been denied visits by any humanitarian group since then, a violation of the Geneva Convention. 
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Greater Miami Jewish Federation |
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© Greater Miami Jewish Federation. 1999-2010. All rights reserved. TERMS OF SERVICE PRIVACY POLICY |
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