During a rally held at Tel Aviv's Rabin Square Tuesday evening in honor of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit's 21st birthday, his father, Noam, said, "After two birthdays and 429 days in captivity (at the hands of Hamas), and after an endless number of meetings and assessments – Gilad is still not with us.
"We feel as though the entire establishment under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's leadership failed miserably in its efforts to return him home," he added.
"In my opinion, there was never a prepared deal (for Gilad's release). It doesn't seem likely. We receive very little phone calls from official sources. We also want information, but we are forced to obtain it ourselves."
Noam Shalit continued to say that if he were a resident of Gaza, he would tell the leaders of Hamas that they have failed as well.
"I would say to them, 'After you have promised us all this time that the prisoners would be released by the last Ramadan holiday – you have failed. We, the residents of Gaza, have been under a military and economic siege for the past 429 days. We don't see the light at the end of the tunnel'," Shalit said.
'Israel is doing nothing'
Gilad's cousins set up a kiosk labeled the "birthday table", upon which they placed explanatory information about Gilad and efforts to secure his release. Family members appealed to passers-by to sign a guestbook and send birthday wishes to Gilad. Thousands of people visited the kiosk during the course of the day and the guestbook was signed by over 5,000 people.
Poet Natan Zach wrote in the book, "It is not Hamas that is holding Gilad Shalit captive, but that rag Olmert and his advisors – and the nation keeps silent and does not cry out to topple them in the next elections."
Zach told Ynet that the late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin released thousands of prisoners in his time, "and today Israel is doing nothing for the three kidnapped soldiers."