Thursday, June 19, 2008

Noam Shalit Slams Olmert for Abandoning Gilad


Hana Levi Julian

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the Security Cabinet gave final approval Wednesday for Israel to begin a tahadiyeh (Arabic for a temporary ceasefire) with terrorists in Gaza, starting at 6:00 a.m. Thursday.

Despite the government's initial insistence that it would not open the crossings with Gaza until the terrorists returned kidnapped IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit, the agreement includes exactly that scenario.

Only the crossing at Rafiah, which straddles the border between Gaza and Egypt, will remain closed – for now. Noam Shalit Slams Prime Minister's Broken Promise
The father of kidnapped IDF Cprl. Gilad Shalit slammed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Wednesday night, saying he broke his promise to include his son's release as part of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

Just a few hours before, Olmert stated at a convention held by the philanthropic Sheatufim Center for Civil Society that "Gilad Shalit's release is inseparable from the agreement on the conditions of the ceasefire."

Nonetheless, it became clear by late in the day that the Gaza crossings would be opened immediately on Thursday, rather than later on and in tandem with progress toward Shalit's release as had been proposed by the Israelis.

Noam Shalit said in an interview on Channel 2 TV that the family is concerned that Israel will lose the only leverage it has on the issue of his son's safe return, if it opens the crossings with Gaza, particularly the one at Rafiah, which straddles the border with Egypt.

"Until this moment we have received no official information [about Gilad]," said Shalit, adding that the family was considering petitioning the High Court of Justice to block the government from implementing the ceasefire agreement.

It is believed that opening the crossings would enable the terrorists holding Gilad hostage to smuggle him out of Gaza and into permanent captivity.

"We've learned our lesson from the Ron Arad tragedy, and we are trying to prevent it from repeating itself," he said. Shalit added that "of course" he believed the government had abandoned his son.

The family's attorneys fired off a letter to the prime minister, declaring, "The agreement, as it appears from the media – which endangers Gilad's life and the possibility of his release, and conflicts with a list of explicit commitments given to our clients by the state's leaders – is not only morally illegitimate, outrageous and extremely unreasonable, but also unlawful."

Orlev: 'Woe to the Country'
"Woe to the country in which the family of an abducted soldier needs to ask the High Court for assistance," National Religious Party chairman and Knesset Member Zevulun Orlev said upon hearing the Shalit family was considering turning to the court for justice.

"Today every Jewish mother knows that the government of Israel has abandoned Gilad Shalit to his fate as part of a false 'calm'," he said.

No comments: