Shalits prepare to hit road
Family of captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit makes final preparations ahead of march to Jerusalem; thousands of Israelis expected to join Shalits on 12-day journey to capital. Campaign chief: We learned lessons from Hamas
Four years and three days after being abducted to the Gaza Strip, the family of captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is set to embark on a 12-day march from its home in Mitzpe Hila to Jerusalem.
The Shalit family is expected to be joined by thousands of Israelis on the journey, in an aim to press the government and secure Gilad's release from Hamas captivity.
As they prepare to hit the road, members of the Shalit campaign headquarters admitted that they have learned some lessons from Hamas.
Aviva Shalit packing ahead of march (Photo: Ahiya Raved)
"I hope this march will be our flotilla," campaign chief Shimshon Libman told Ynet. "Because of the flotilla, the State quickly gave up all the pressure levers it was so proud of – the Gaza blockade and the release of Hamas men from jail. Perhaps our own 'flotilla' to Jerusalem will also make a difference."
'Existential struggle for Israel'
In the hours before the march, scheduled to get underway Sunday morning, Libman accompanied the Shalit family. The captive soldier's family was mostly busy packing and coordinating "shifts" at their home with their neighbors while the family is away.
"Our struggle is an existential struggle of the entire State of Israel, and not only a war on behalf of two parents whose son was abducted," Libman said. "Woe on us if we lose and destroy our moral fabric in respect to the value of not abandoning a soldier. The destruction of this guarantee constitutes the destruction of this country."
Members of the Shalit campaign will be arriving at the Shalit home in northern Israel Sunday morning ahead of the march. When the time comes, the family will leave the home, lock the doors, and march to the center of the Mitzpe Hila community. Following a short ceremony, the march will get underway.
March organizers had difficulty estimating the number of Israelis expected to take part in the campaign, but said that thousands have already announced their intention to join the journey to the capital.
Shalit's family members said they will stay at the protest tent in Jerusalem until their son's return.
