Shalit, abducted 25 June 2006 by Hamas, was born on 28 August 1986 in Nahariya, Israel, and was raised from the age of two in Mitzpe Hila in the Western Galilee. He graduated with distinction from Manor Kabri High School.
Remember my son, says Shalit's father three years after abduction
By Haaretz Service
The father of Gilad Shalit urged fellow Israelis on Thursday to think of his son's plight in Hamas captivity, three years after the soldier was snatched from an Israel Defense Forces post by Gaza militants.
"My request today, June 25, 2009, is for every person in the country, man and woman, young and old, to close their eyes for three minutes. Three minutes only, and to wait until these minutes are over, and in this time for everyone to try to think of what my son Gilad is going through," Noam Shalit told Army Radio.
Egyptian-brokered negotiations to secure Shalit's release broke down during the last days of former prime minister Ehud Olmert's tenure. Israel has recently picked a new negotiating team to examine ways to move forward in the case, under the leadership of former Mossad operative Haggai Hadas.
Advertisement
In the radio interview, Noam Shalit described his son as "a young man who is waiting with bated breath, not only for three minutes, and not only for three hours and not even for three days; but waiting in darkness and despair, suffering physically and mentally, for the freedom that was taken from him three years ago."
Supporters of the abducted soldier planned to hold a mass demonstration outside Defense Minister Ehud Barak's office in Tel Aviv on Thursday. Shalit's parents will declare at the rally the founding of an "army of Gilad Shalit's friends," which will lead all efforts aimed at pressing the government over the soldier's case, Army Radio reported.
Shalit's brother, for his part, made a new plea to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to mark the day.
"Mr. prime minister, I ask of you: Save my brother. Don't abandon him to an unknown fate. Don't wait until tomorrow, help Gilad today," Yoel Shalit said on Army Radio.
"Every day in captivity is life-threatening. Gilad is still alive and it is your responsibility and duty to bring him home."
