Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni
Photo: Uriel Cohen, Flash 90
Livni: Red Cross must pressure Hamas on Shalit
Foreign minister meets with head of international relief group, wonders aloud why Hamas keeps denying them access to kidnapped IDF soldier
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met Thursday with Red Cross President Jacob Kellenberger and demanded he urge his people in the region to visit kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
"I know this is not to your liking, but you must pressure Hamas on the matter," she said.
Kellenberger is visiting Israel as part of the Red Cross' monitoring of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
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Shalit's case, said Livni, "is a pivotal part of the Gaza (campaign). The Red Cross has access to every prisoner around the world, but here there is a terror organization which is denying this access.
Kellenberger agreed that Shalit's case was of great importance to the Red Cross, but said his group encountered "legal difficulties" in Hamas' definition as a terror group.
The two also discussed the humanitarian situation in the Strip. Livni stressed that Israel is and has been facilitating in the transfer of aid to Gaza, adding that Israel "is aware of the situation in Gaza and is working with the Red Cross to alleviate it.
"Nevertheless, we also expect the Red Cross to understand the plight of Israeli citizens living under the threat of terror… Many Israelis have been living under intolerable fire for eight years. This situation must change and that is why we have launched this operation."
