Prominent authors urge Olmert to expedite Shalit talks
'Soldiers willing to risk their lives knowing that if they are taken captive or inured in battle, country will not rest until they are returned home,' A.B. Yehoshua, Amos Oz and others say in letter to PM
Some 20 prominent authors and intellectuals sent outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert a
letter urging him to expedite the negotiations for the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit before his term ends.
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Olmert wrote in response that the government was making "supreme efforts" to bring about the soldier's release.
"I cannot keep Gilad out of my mind, not even for a second. I have a photo of him on my desk, and his eyes are looking at me every day," the PM wrote.
The initiative was led by A.B. Yehoshua and Amos Oz. "Israel's obligation to its soldiers and willingness to make significant sacrifices to bring them home from captivity are far greater than the price this entails," said the letter, which was relayed to Olmert a few weeks ago.
"IDF soldiers are willing to risk their lives for the country knowing that if, God forbid, they are taken captive or inured in battle, the country will not rest until they are returned home."
The signees, including authors David Grossman, Eli Amir and Nurit Zarchi, also mentioned the letter missing navigator Ron Arad sent from captivity, in which he said "act because there is no time".
Thursday afternoon saw the Ramon Committee presenting Olmert with a list of the names of the 450 Palestinian prisoners Israel is willing to free in exchange for Shalit. The committee approved half of the names demanded by Hamas.
The negotiations, however, are currently frozen as Hamas is refusing to cooperate with talk mediator Egypt.
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