Gilad: Three Years

Friday 3rd July 2009


As Gilad Shalit spent his third anniversary in captivity last Thursday, gatherings were held around the world to highlight the plight of the young IDF officer.

In Israel, the 22-year-old's father addressed hundreds of supporters who rallied outside the Ministry of Defence. "We are standing here tonight to be a mouth for Gilad... who cannot speak and, of course, cannot shout from the hole in the ground where he has been for the past three years," said Noam Shalit.
"He is asking only one thing from you, the decision makers - his freedom."

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In London, meanwhile, a number of youth movements held a ceremony for Gilad and six other IDF officers, who have been declared Missing In Action, at the London Jewish Cultural Centre. Participants were encouraged to sign a petition urging the British government and the United Nations to take action on the soldiers' behalf.

The anniversary also saw a delegation from AJEX - including ZF President Eric Moonman, Lee Scott MP and Malay and Borneo veteran Stanley Langsman - present a letter to executives from the IRC, as part of a campaign demanding Shalit be granted prisoner-of-war status while he's in captivity.

And lending his voice to the chorus of those clamouring for the officer's "immediate, unconditional and safe release", Foreign Secretary David Miliband said: "We share the Shalit family's dismay at Hamas's refusal to allow the ICRC access to Gilad."

But he added: "I do not forget the humanitarian plight of ordinary Gazans. I repeat the UK's calls on Israel to reduce further the current restrictions on the Gaza crossings, to allow in aid, reconstruction materials, and trade goods, and to permit the legitimate flow of people through the crossings. It is imperative to start a new cycle of hope in Gaza, so that all turn their back on violence and focus on building a safe and secure future."

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