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.
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.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.