Friends of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit warned at demonstrations Friday and Saturday that he will not remain alive if the government does not insist on his freedom as a condition of any ceasefire in Gaza. The Security Cabinet is meeting Saturday night to discuss a proposed unilateral truce in which the IDF would remain in Gaza without attacking Hamas except as a defensive measure.
"If we sign a truce that does not include Gilad, it would mean his death sentence," warned Guy Eliasaf, a friend of the soldier who has been in captivity for 934 days. "Gilad is probably hearing the explosions and thinking the moment [of his release] is near. Once that stops, he is sure to think we have given up on him."
Noam Shalit, the soldier's father, told a press conference Saturday evening that without the release of his son, "We will not let the government agree on a ceasefire with Hamas. Olmert, Barak, Livni – we will not let you do this. There can be no agreement without Gilad."
Hamas sources maintained that freeing Shalit is not on the negotiating table until the government agrees to free approximately 1,000 terrorists and prisoners.
One of the Hamas leaders who promoted kidnapping Israel soldiers was Interior Minister Said Siam, who was killed this week by the IDF.
"In the past Hamas succeeded in kidnapping many Zionist soldiers," he said before his death. "There are thousands of prisoners of our forces, they have to think how to free these prisoners. And I believe that it is inevitable to kidnap soldiers to exchange for them."
In Israel, political support for Shalit is growing. Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann said earlier this week that a truce must include the release of the soldier, who has not been visited or contacted by the International Red Cross since he was kidnapped in an attack on a Gaza crossing on June 25, 2006. Two other soldiers were killed.
Knesset Member Gilad Erdan (Likud) stated, "It would be an unprecedented moral [failure] if the government withdraws the forces without Shalit being returned."
The Shalit family published a letter on Saturday stating that the government has a moral obligation to secure Gilad's freedom now.
It warned that if their son is not returned safely, "Israeli society may pay a far heavier price than what has been requested in the past: This will hurt the moral fortitude and fighting spirit of the IDF in the future. Such failure would seal Gilad's fate to remain buried in Gaza, captive all his life."