Aviva and Noam Shalit
Photo: Avishag Shear Yeshuv
Prisoners' families urge Shalits to squeeze gov't
Families of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel hold press conference, urge parents of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit to increase pressure for deal
Families of Palestinian prisoners held a press conference Thursday during which they encouraged Aviva and Noam Shalit to keep pressuring the Israeli government on behalf of their son.
The wife of one of the Palestinian prisoners held in Israel addressed Aviva Shalit in Hebrew: "You have lost your son Gilad only four years ago. We have been waiting for our sons and husbands, who are imprisoned in your jails, where they suffer torture and have only minimal conditions, for dozens of years.
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"We share the same goal. The ball is in your court. You can make Netanyahu agree to release your son and ours. You have a great opportunity and two-thirds of your people are in favor of the deal and are willing to accept the demands of the Palestinian organizations, so that Gilad can come home alive."
The woman further urged the Shalits not to give up: "You must continue to pressure your prime minister – he holds the key to Gilad's release and he is the one hindering the deal.
"(Netanyahu) has declared that there are 40 prisoners he will not release. these names are part of the groups' demands and his position is postponing your son's return, turning the Shalit case to another Ron Arad case."
The Palestinian press conference was held shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's press briefing, where he stressed that while Israel was willing to pay a heavy price to secure Shalit's return, "It cannot agree to a deal at all cost.
"We will continue to spare no effort to see to Gilad's return, while vehemently protecting the citizens of Israel," he said.
