Kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit's father, Noam, is encouraged by the massive support his family is receiving at the protest tent
set up outside the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem.
"We are here to bring this matter to the public's test, to see whether it supports Gilad's release, despite what we are hearing from other elements," Shalit told Ynet. "There is proof that the public supports Gilad's release – immediately."
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Hundreds of residents continued to flock to the protest tent on Monday, some bringing Purim gifts and letters, others asking to shake Noam Shalit's hand and express their support for his family.
Shalit said the public's support was heartwarming. "The public's opinion is simply the opposite of the opinion we are hearing from the government and the higher echelons, who think the State will collapse in light of the price we'll be demanded to pay.
"The public doesn't believe that. I hear it from all the people passing here," he added.
Shalit at protest tent (Photo: Ahiya Raved)
According to Shalit, although Ehud Olmert
or his ministers have yet to respond to the protest tent, the prime minister's wife, Aliza, has invited the family members to visit the house in the afternoon.
"We will accept the invitation, naturally, but I don’t know if she has anything new to tell us," said Shalit.
Asked about the meeting held Sunday in Cairo by Israeli mediator Ofer Dekel, Shalit said he did not know what the meeting had dealt with and whether any progress had been made.
"The last time I spoke to Dekel was on Friday, and I didn’t hear from him about any progress. We wait, we hope, we check. This is the level of things at the moment."
Shalit added that he had not been briefed on a videotape
of his son reportedly received by Hamas' deputy politburo chief Moussa Abu Marzouk during a recent visit to Gaza. The French officials involved in handling the affair have also not heard about it.
Gilad Shalit was kidnapped
into the Gaza Strip 988 days ago.
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