Aliza Olmert, wife of the outgoing Prime Minister, met with the Shalit family Tuesday evening. The Shalits have manned a protest tent outside the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem for the past several days.
Noam Shalit, father of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, currently being held captive by Hamas cells in Gaza, said that Mrs. Olmert expressed her identification with the family and their struggle. The vigil tent was established to pressure the government to reach a deal with Hamas that would bring Gilad home before the Netanyahu administration begins.
Aliza Olmert said after her meeting with the Shalits that "there is no wall" between the protest tent and the Prime Minister's Residence. "I completely identify with the struggle for Gilad's freedom," she said, "and had I not been a witness to the intensive investment of effort towards bringing him back, I would have definitely gone out to the protest tent myself."