The father of captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit
called on Hamas
to agree to a prisoner exchange deal before the new Israeli government is sworn in.
"I suggest that Hamas hurry up and close the deal with the current government under the existing terms, because they won’t be improved," Noam Shalit said Wednesday at a protest tent he had set up outside Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's
official residence in Jerusalem.
| Shalit Protest |
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| Activists hope pressure will speed up Shalit's release / Ahiya Raved |
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Activists at protest tent opposite prime minister's residence say they hope mass turnout of supporters at place will have an effect on government, promote freeing of kidnapped soldier |
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"We do not know what the next government will bring or who will head it, and I think Hamas must understand that the window of opportunity is closing," he said.
Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said during his visit to the protest tent "the zero-hour has come; I'm aware of the moral debate surrounding the price tag (for Shalit's release), but there is no more time for arguments and discussions.
"I am certain that a decisive majority of cabinet members will back a prisoner exchange deal," he said. "The government I am a part of must not clear its desk before Gilad is returned home."
Gilad Shalit was captured by Palestinian terrorists during a cross-border raid on an IDF base near Gaza on June 25, 2006.
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