Israel Resumes Attempts To Negotiate Release of Shalit
Negotiations to release captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit from Hamas have resumed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu on Sunday said that Israel has “renewed contact with the German mediator” in order to free Shalit, who is being held in the Gaza Strip.
Shalit was captured in a cross-border raid in June 2006.
Shalit’s grandfather, Zvi Shalit, told Israel Radio Sunday that he did not see any evidence that negotiations had been renewed. He said Netanyahu “is killing” his grandson if the Israeli leader does not bring about his release.
“I don’t know why the prime minister doesn’t make the phone call that would bring Gilad home,” Zvi Shalit said, adding that “Hamas has a very limited demand and it has not changed over the years. The list is known.”
Hamas has demanded the release of 1,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails, including some directly responsible for the deaths of Israelis.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $325,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
