Protestors for Gilad Shalit at the Megiddo prison finally agreed to unblock the entrance and allow relatives of Hamas terrorists to visit the prisoners. Legislative and other efforts are being stepped up to ban visits to Palestinian terrorists for as long as Gilad Shalit receives no visitors.
Protestors on behalf of Shalit outside Israeli prisons have led authorities to cancel all visits on Tuesday to Hamas terrorists, for fear that the protestors and the Arabs would clash.
Visitors are not being permitted at Tel Mond prison near Netanya and Shikmah Prison near Ashkelon. Four pro-Shalit protestors were arrested at the Netanya prison while blocking the entrance.
However, in Megiddo, near Afula, visits are being allowed. Noam Shalit, Gilad’s father, agreed to call off the protest there, in response to a police ultimatum, and said, “I believe we have achieved our objective in all three prisons – of getting the Hamas leadership to realize that visits to the terrorist prisoners is not self-evident for as long as visits to Gilad are not self-evident.”
A Harder-Line Stance
Miki Goldwasser, whose son Ehud was kidnapped by Hizbullah terrorists around the same time as Gilad, and was murdered shortly afterwards, was among the protestors – and disagreed with Noam Shalit. She said they should not stop blocking the prison entrance: “The terrorists’ families waited an hour and a half in an air-conditioned room, and now they’ll get to see their sons, and maybe even receive extra time – while Gilad gets to see no one.”
Shalit was kidnapped by Gaza terrorists over three years ago and has not been permitted a single visit from Israeli or neutral elements, such as the Red Cross. One recording and three letters have been received from Gilad during this period, but the last one was over a year ago. No sign of life has been received from him since June 2008.
MK Danny Danon (Likud), who is sponsoring the “Gilad Shalit” legislative bill, says he expects the Israel Prison Service to stop playing “scared” and to support his efforts.
Danon’s bill states that the Hamas terrorist prisoners in Israeli jails will not be permitted to receive visitors, until Shalit is either released or allowed to receive visitors himself. The bill will be voted on when Knesset sessions resume in late October.
“The Israel Prison Service is a frightened body,” MK Danon said, “that easily gives in to pressures and acts like a leaf driven by the wind. The IPS grants the prisoners VIP status, even while Gilad Shalit is in captivity, for fear of clashes with the Hamas prisoners who essentially control the jails. I hope the IPS will support this bill.”
MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) praised the decision to call off visits in two prisons, and said, “I hope it will not be just a one-time thing. This is the only way to get Gilad Shalit back home. The time has come to stop this fraudulent humanism.”