Noam and Avivia Shalit
צילום: חגי אהרון
Noam Shalit: Don't solve problems at expense of Gilad
Hundreds of students hiked in the Galilee calling to release kidnapped soldiers. Noam Shalit blasted government: 'Israel's problems with Palestinians cannot be solved at expense of Gilad'
Noam Shalit, the father of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit has sharply criticized the government for, according to him, trying to solve other problems at the expense of releasing his son from captivity.
"This nightmare which has been going on for more than five months must end with the understanding that all of Israel's problems with the Palestinians cannot be solved at the expense of Gilad, and the problems of the county with the rest of its neighbors at the expense of the other kidnapped soldiers," Shalit said.
Noam Shalit with poster of his son (Photo: Hagai Aharon)
Shalit said these words at a rally in their community of Mitzpeh Hilah in the Galilee with 600 of the students of the Ort middle school in Maalot. The students hiked 2.2 kilometers from the village of Mailiya nearby to the house of his parents. Saturday will mark five months to the abduction of Gilad Shalit in the south and about 20 weeks to the abduction of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev in the north.
During the rally the students read songs calling for the return of the kidnapped soldiers. Noam Shalit stood in front of the students and sent a message to the government saying that both sides now need some quiet. "We are talking about useless wars where nobody wins. Precious blood was spilled without anybody claiming success in the current struggle."
Shalit spoke to the students, who will soon be drafted into combat units in the army: "You need to make it clear to the government that there is a top value where soldiers who were sent to fight for their country are not to be abandoned. Everything must be done to return them home."
Shlomo Goldwasser, father of Ehud who was kidnapped by Hizbullah along with Eldad Regev focused on the struggle of the families: "It wasn't the Prime Minister who sent the sons to patrol the border with Lebanon. He is in his post only six month. It was the People of Israel who sent them there. Olmert, like the other members of the government need to know that you youngsters, together with all the people of Israel, want the sons back just like the families do."
Goldwasser, who returned from three separate rallies for the soldiers in London, says that the world understands the situation and tries in any possible way to end the affair soon and return the sons home.
