Arabs rally for Shalit, Regev, Goldwasser

Dozens of Israeli-Arabs participated in a rally for the realese of kidnapped soldiers Gilad Shalit, Eldad Regev and Ehud Golwasser in the village of Kfar Kassem on Wednesday evening.

Guests of honor included MK Ibrahim Sarsur (Ra'am-Ta'al) and Noam Shalit, Gilad's father. 

Shalit told Ynet that participants "expressed their support for my family and for Gilad. They believe in co-existence and working to better the relationship between our communities."

Shalit addressed the rally and called on Gilad's kidnappers to "act like human beings" and release his son. Shalit emphasized that his son was abducted while guarding the country's borders and not during a raid into enemy territory.

Dozens of Arabs from across the country attended the rally, which opened with an emotional meeting between an Arab family from Kfar Kassem that donated the organs of a deceased family member and the family of a four-year-old boy from Kiryat Arba whose life was saved thanks to the donation.

Malek Faraj, one of the rally's organizers, said that he and members of his organization "plan to travel to Gaza with Noam Shalit to meet with (Hamas leader) Ismail Haniyeh. Hopefully no one will stop this meeting from taking place." Faraj accused politicians are not doing enough to secure Shalit's safe return

and said that "the entire Arab sector support the release of the kidnapped soldiers." 

Faraj also said that MK Sarsur is scheduled to leave for Turkey on Thursday to meet with government officials regarding the kidnapped soldiers. "God willing, on Sunday there may be good news," he said. 

Ahiya Raved contributed to report