Gilad Shalit's family receives new letter from captive son

Proof of Life: The parents of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who was taken prisoner by Hamas over 20 months ago, have received another letter from their son, Monday.

The letter – which was preceded by two others – was relayed by Hamas as part of the group's pledge to former US President Jimmy Carter. 

Shalit's father, Noam, confirmed that a letter was in fact relayed through the Born To Freedom Foundation: "The family had received a letter today via the secretary-general of the Carter Center.

"There are many signs indicating that the letter is authentic. It conveys a message from Gilad – he is pleading, begging us to do everything we can to see that he is released form captivity."

Carter, who met with Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal twice during his Middle East visit in April, told the Shalit's that according to Hamas reports, Gilad was "doing well." The former US president met with the captive soldier's family and briefed them on his meeting with Hamas heads regarding their son.

'Not enough being done'

Noam Shalit conferred with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert regarding the effort made on behalf of his son just last week. Shalit said he left the meeting with a "bad feeling": "My impression from this meeting is very difficult. We didn’t hear anything new from the prime minister and he couldn’t tell us about any progress being made.

"It has been nearly two years (since the kidnapping) and nothing is seen in the horizon," Noam Shalit told Ynet. "We expect news and expect this affair to end, but at the moment we see nothing new that will bring back Gilad."

Israel has stressed before Egyptian Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman time and again, that any ceasefire agreement involving the terror groups in the Gaza Strip, would have to include the safe release of Gilad Shalit. Egypt has been trying to mediate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.

The last year has seen Hamas deliver several indicators that Gilad Shalit was still alive: The second letter form the captive soldier was relayed in mid February, through a third-party mediator. In 2007, Hamas released a tape of Gilad.

A senior source in Jerusalem said Monday the new letter should be taken as a messaged form Hamas, which seems to be concerned that its refusal to release Shalit as part of the tahadiya – the temporary calm Egypt is trying to broker between Israel and Hamas; and the ongoing rocket fire on the western Negev will prompt a so-far pending Israeli decision to launch a wide-scale operation in the Gaza Strip.

The timing, said Jerusalem, is far from coincidental: "The letter has surfaced just before the security cabinet's discussion on any future Gaza operation. The letter surfaced just as Olmert, (Defense Minister Ehud) Barak and (Foreign Minister Tzipi) Livni have reiterated Israel's prerequisite demand that Gilad be released."

Hamas sources refused to confirm the reports of the new letter, but told Ynet that should that be true, the timing was closely linked to the ceasefire talks and to the Palestinian assessments that any Israeli attempt exacerbate the situation in the Strip may harm a future Shalit deal.

Relaying a letter, said the source, was nothing more than a humanitarian gesture, and not indicative of any progress made in Shalit's case.

A senior Palestinian official added Monday that Egypt is demanding the Palestinian organizations show more flexibility regarding Shalit's release; asking they work towards making the Shalit case an inseparable part of the ceasefire talks.

The source further said that Israel has agreed to release 71 prisoners "with blood on their hands," out of the list of 300 prisoners submitted by Hamas, as part of the ceasefire. .  

Ali Waked contributed to this report