The family of captive soldier Gilad Shalit yesterday began a solemn protest march from northern Israel to the prime minister’s home in Jerusalem to mark four years since their son was captured.
More than 2,000 supporters, all wearing yellow ribbons tied round their wrists or onto their backpacks, joined the family as they set off from their home in Mitzpe Hila near Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
Many wore white T-shirts or held banners with the slogan: “Gilad is still alive” as they set off shortly after 9am for the cross-country march to the Jerusalem residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
PHOTO: AFP
Friday marked four years since the soldier, now 23, was captured by militants from Hamas and two other groups in a deadly cross-border raid on June 25, 2006.
Since then, Shalit has had no contact with his family or the International Committee of the Red Cross, a move slammed by Human Rights Watch as cruel and inhuman in a statement to coincide with the anniversary of his capture.
Hamas, however, says allowing a Red Cross visit would reveal his location to Israel.
The group did release a brief videotaped statement last year to prove he was still alive.
His parents say they will camp outside Netanyahu’s official residence until their son is released.
“We will not come home without Gilad,” his father Noam said before the marchers set off on the 200km trek, which is expected to take about 12 days.
“Today we say, ‘We won’t wait any longer, we won’t wait any longer in our home,’” he said.
Israel’s leaders, he said, “have to put an end to this sad saga.”
A few Israeli flags were flying as the marchers walked downhill, heading for the northern coastal town of Nahariya, 15km to the west.
Thousands more, including supermodel Bar Refaeli and dozens of local celebrities, are expected to join the march this week.
Schalit’s capture helped spark Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israel had hoped the embargo would force Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, to release the soldier.
Israel has agreed to release many of the 1,000 Palestinian prisoners that Hamas wants freed but has balked at releasing some of the top militants responsible for deadly attacks inside Israel.
Schalit’s parents say the Israeli government has abandoned their son and lost important leverage over Hamas by easing the embargo without assuring his release.
Netanyahu told his Cabinet yesterday that the government was working to free the serviceman and he urged the international community “to stand by the state of Israel in its unequivocal and just demand that our captive soldier be returned immediately.”
Talks on a prisoner swap, under the auspices of a German mediator, broke down in December last year and have not resumed, prompting anger and frustration in Schalit’s family, and calls for the government to pay up to secure his release.
Netanyahu has been careful to avoid any public conflict with Schalit’s parents.
Israel, however, has a long history of paying a disproportionate price for its captive soldiers.
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