Shalit activists: Bibi won't evade us
Shalit protest held in home of Netanyahu's neighbor, after police ban rallies in nearby area
Activists in the campaign to free captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit found a creative way to circumvent a police ban on protesting outside the prime minister's home, holding a rally Friday inside the home of Benjamin Netanyahu's neighbors in Caesarea.
"We were forbidden from protesting in a public area, so now we're closer, in the home next to the prime minister's house," said protest organizer Magen Dahari.
Shalit's grandfather in Friday's rally (Photo: George Ginsburg)
In the past year, Shalit activists regularly convened in a public area outside the PM's home every Friday in order to sing, deliver speeches, and urge Netanyahu to secure the abducted soldier's release. However, police recently put an end to the rallies.
"Apparently our concern for securing Shalit's release disturbed the prime minister," Dahari said.
As result of the ban, the activists managed to acquire permits to hold their rally in a nearby home, which belongs to a family that is out of the country for most of the year. The homeowners agreed to let the Shalit campaign use the house while they're away.
Dahari said activists are aware that Netanyahu is not home this Friday, but vowed to return to the site and protest regularly.
"We shall return here next week, and the week after that…he won't evade us," he said.
Gilad Shalti's grandfather, Zvi, attended Friday's protest and lauded the initiative in a conversation with Ynet.
"Now we're close to Netanyahu, and I hope this proximity will change something within him and prompt him to release Gilad," he said, adding that the PM has the power to quickly secure the captive soldier's release.
"The attack where Gilad was abducted was an IDF failure," the grandfather said. "I'm urging Netanyahu to speak with the captors and return Gilad home. Security experts already contradicted the PM's words about jeopardizing national security by releasing prisoners."
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